Remus Lupin. The boy I've liked for so many years, just because he once waved at me. Well not meexactly. It was Lily Evans who was walking behind me... But close enough right? I've never spoken a word to him in my life. So you can imagine my surprise when the school player, the almost obsessive stalker and the love of my life waltzed into my compartment and situated themselves in the many available seats.

A/N: I am currently in the process of rewriting/adding to the first few chapters of this story. I'm pretty sure you can see the difference in the quality of writing from when I started writing this story to the latest chapter. I'm hoping to bring the quality of the first few chapters up to scratch. So just know it gets better! :)

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What do you say to the boy you’ve been in love with for 6 years when he is sitting in your compartment with his two very attractive friends?

What do you say to any of them when you’ve been in their house for 6 years and you haven’t ever spoken a word to them? Ever.

Do you ask them how their holiday was? No what if they had a bad time and don’t want to talk about it?

What about the weather? The weather’s always a safe subject.

Yeah. Sure. The first thing I’m ever going to say to the boy I’ve been dying to talk to for years is ‘Oh look, it’s raining’.

I don’t think so.

Uh oh. It’s starting to get awkward. They’ve stopped talking amongst themselves and are now looking at me.

Wait. Maybe I should go back and fill you in.

My name is Shaylee Sanchez, or more commonly known as 'What's-her-name'. Cool right?

No.

I’m a seventh year Gryffindor so yes; I’m in the same house as the infamous marauders. No, I’ve never dated any of them, which is saying something seeing as half the female population has dated Sirius Black, however briefly.

I may sorta, kinda, maybe have this giant crush on Remus Lupin...

Oh alright! You've got me! I'm in love with Remus Lupin! What's so wrong with that huh? Okay, besides the fact he doesn't know who I am... and the fact that he's a Marauder... and the fac- Oh alright! I get the point!

Anyway, moving on...

I’m not sure anyone even knows I exist, least of all Remus Lupin.

And for that, that is why I strongly dislike Lily Evans. My mum says I'm not actually supposed to say I hate someone, so strongly dislike it is.

I think I am the only person in all of Hogwarts to actually strongly dislike Lily Evans. She is so well liked that it makes me dislike her even more.

I’m not jealous of her, no sir not me… Well maybe a little. But it’s all her fault!

Let me take you back to our first year.

Aww look it’s little 11 year old me! Oh Merlin, my mother actually let me wear that to my first day of Hogwarts?! God, what was she thinking? Clearly she wanted to embarrass me to death. Oh right, back to the story.

I was so nervous I wanted to be sick, which is really gross but that’s how I felt. You see, when I get nervous, I tend to get jittery and jumpy like I’ve had too much coffee or something. I also get extremely clumsy but that’s nothing new. I’m just naturally clumsy.

Well as you could imagine, like every other first year, I was nervous as hell.

Just on the way to the station I managed to trip at least 3 times, nearly get run over by a granny on a scooter and worst of all, got hit by a parked car. Did I mention this was all before 11 o’clock?

When my mum and I finally make it too Kings Cross, thankfully in one piece, we were very nearly late. After a hurried goodbye and a few tears from mum, I was able to get onto the train just as it was starting to move.

I was stumbling down the hallway, following a girl with vivid red hair. I was looking for a compartment that wasn’t completely full, when suddenly the train gave a jerk. Luckily, being the graceful person that I am, I was able to regain my balance.

As if.

Of course I wouldn’t be so lucky as to not embarrass myself within the first minute of being on the Hogwarts Express.

As the train gave a jerk, I found myself being propelled forward into the back of the red headed girl, also known as Lily Evans, which caused us both to go tumbling into an open compartment door.

Lily was lucky and fell onto the lap of an attractive, well as attractive as an 11 year old can get, boy and didn’t hurt a hair on her pretty little head.

I wasn’t so lucky.

I ended up laying face first on the dirty compartment floor, laughter ringing in my ears and nose steadily bleeding.

I hurriedly picked myself up, eyes stinging, threatening tears forming, and was able to quickly glance around the compartment.

That was the first time I ever saw Remus Lupin, with his sandy blonde hair, his amber eyes and his... well I'll just leave it at that shall I?

From then on, I had the biggest crush on him. It wasn’t until half way through third year when I was walking down the corridor and he was walking the other way that he waved at me. That’s when I fell in love with him.

As it turns out, just as I was raising my hand to wave back while trying not to faint from the pure thought of Remus Lupin noticing me, Lily Evans, who was walking just in front of me, waved back.

Talk about gutted.

But back to first year. I fled from the compartment so fast; it was as if I was never there in the first place.

I was hoping beyond hope that no one had actually noticed I was there. But it seemed Lily Evans didn’t think she just randomly fell into a compartment on her own accord. She had seen my face and has strongly disliked it for the past six years.

I know she blames me for James Potter forever bugging her. You see it was his lap she fell onto and it seems I wasn’t the only one who formed an instant crush that day.

But enough about Evans, I could seriously rant all day but I won’t because that would get extremely boring and even I would get sick of myself.

I had always been a shy person but was hoping to change that when I went to Hogwarts. Well obviously that didn’t happen. After crashing so embarrassingly into the Marauders compartment, I tried to avoid them in case one of the recognized me. None of they ever did.

Of course I tried to talk to the other kids in my classes but most of the time, everyone was too caught up in whatever crazy prank the Marauders were pulling or they wanted to talk about them. I was so set on avoiding them that it didn’t really leave much for me to talk about with anyone.

And okay I admit it, after a while I stopped trying to befriend people. The other girls my age just didn’t get my humor, or they thought I was weird because I had no interest in the latest issue of Witch Weekly or beauty potions. I wanted to run around outside and climb trees. I loved dinner time and ate as much as I could. I didn’t care if I got dirty, well only when Filch yelled at me for tracking mud through the castle. I also loved watching, not playing, Quidditch and went to every match.

That was just the girls though. The boys were a whole different story. You would think that since I liked doing a lot of the same stuff as they did, that we would get along. We didn’t. They scared the hell out of me! Boys were, and still are, a complete and utter mystery to me. I don’t run screaming in the opposite direction of them anymore, but I still have no clue how to interact with them. Mostly I just avoid them.

So basically I’ve been drifting through life at Hogwarts barely being noticed by even the teachers let alone any of the Marauders.

I practically live in the library seeing as how I’m in there before classes, after classes, before dinner, after dinner… yeah, my life sucks.

My best friends are books and quite possibly the giant squid.

So you can imagine my surprise when the school player, the almost obsessive stalker and the love of my life waltzed into my compartment on the first day of our seventh year and barely without a glance at me, situated themselves in the many available seats and started talking animatedly amongst themselves.

And that brings us to where we first started.

Oh Merlin. Remus has noticed that I’m actually in the compartment. He was half way through laughing at something funny that James had just said when he glanced over my way and caught my eyes.

I’m beyond nervous. I could pee my pants. But I won’t. Well I hope to god I don’t. Oh Merlin, now I need to go to the toilet. Shutupshutupshutup.

What do I say? He’s just looking at me. Oh God! Now Black and Potter have realised I’m here too. Why are they just looking at me? Is there something on my face?

I was actually half way raising my hand to swipe at my face in case I had accidentally left some of my breakfast there, when the boy I’ve been looking at from afar for so many years spoke to me.

“Hello.”

Hello. Hello. HELLO! Remus Lupin has said ‘Hello’ to me. I’m not sure if I’m actually awake or not. If anyone pinches me I’ll kill them. Even if this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up from it.

I’m still in slight shock when I hear Black sniggering.

I’m such a loser. The Remus Lupin is talking to me and all I can do is sit here with my mouth hanging open like some demented goldfish. I seriously need some social skills and fast.

I fight the urge to smack myself in the head for looking like such a loser, and finally answer the patiently waiting Remus in my most confident and cool voice that I have.

“Uh… h-hi,” I mentally remind myself to smack myself in the head when I’m in the privacy of my dorm.

Remus gives me a small smile, that nearly melts my insides to mush, and goes to say something when Sirius beats him too it.

“So…” Sirius begins, "What's your name?"

I have the urge to scrunch my nose up and refuse to tell him my name. I mean, come on! I've been in the same house as him for 6 freaking years!

I will not tell him my name. And that's final.

“It’s Shaylee,” I half mutter, half mumble as I look down at my hands in my lap.

Crap.

Wait. They didn’t hear me.

“What did she say?” James asked, not bothering to be discrete in the slightest.

“I think she said Bailey? Is your name Bailey?” Sirius asked me, not even pausing to let me answer.

I opened my mouth to tell them that in fact, no my name is not Bailey, when Remus beat me too it.

“Her name is Shaylee,” Remus said, pronouncing my name perfectly. Is it possible to fall in love with someone again just because they can say your name correctly?

“Ohh,” James and Sirius said in unison, “Why didn’t you say so?”

Remus just shook his head at his two friends and turned towards me. I'm going to die, I swear.

“Hi Shaylee. I’m Remus Lupin,” he said while extending his hand towards me to shake. With a shaky hand, I surprised myself that I had actually managed any movement at all, I put my hand into Remus firm yet soft hand.

“I know!” I said before I could stop myself. I was so caught up in the fact that I was actually touching Remus Lupin that I wasn’t even thinking of what I was saying.

I have always liked the train ride back to Hogwarts. One of the main reasons being that is when I first met James, Sirius and Peter.

As I stood on the platform, leaning on a wall waiting for Sirius, James and Peter too show up, I remembered how we came to be the Marauders.

It was back in our first year, our first trip on the Hogwarts Express.

I had arrived early and found myself seated in an empty compartment praying that no one would look at me and instantly know I was a werewolf.

As I was getting more and more anxious about the fact that I was going away for school, a boy with black hair and steely grey blue eyes entered my compartment.

“Ah hello. Mind if I join you?” The boy, who would later become one of my best friends, asked.

I really didn’t want to tell him no and even if I did, I don’t think he would have left anyway because he was already seated and was making himself comfortable.

Just as I was about to answer, another boy who also had black hair popped his head into our compartment and asked if we minded if he joined.

Once he too was seated he said, “I’m James Potter.”

“Remus Lupin.”

“Sirius Black.”

“Are you serious?” asked James with a goofy grin.

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out!” Sirius shouted back with a grin on his face.

We all laughed and relaxed. We nodded to each other in that manly way that said ‘nice to meet you’.

The train began to move as we began talking to each other and by the time the train was half way too Hogwarts, it was as if we had been friends for years.

“So what house do you want to be in?” asked James, shoving a cauldron cake into his mouth, which he had just gotten from the food trolley. “I want to be in -”

“Gryffindor!” Sirius, James and I all said at the same time.

We all grinned until we heard a banging sound come from outside our compartment.

We all took out our wands, even though we had little to no knowledge of how to use them. I had only remembered a few basic spells that I had read about in my new text books.

When I, along with James and Sirius, stuck my head out of the compartment door, I saw a first year boy lying on the floor cowering as fourth year boy with blonde hair stood over him laughing.

“OI! What do you think you’re doing Malfoy?” Sirius asked glaring at the blonde boy who had stopped laughing at the sound of Sirius and was returning his glare back at us. I later found out that Sirius knew Malfoy from pureblood parties that his family made him attend.

“Knock off Black. Me and Pettigrew here are just chatting,” Malfoy drawled before kicking the whimpering boy. “Weren’t we Peter?”

Peter simply just tried to wriggle away from Malfoy’s foot.

“Why don’t you just bugger off you stupid git!” James said glaring at Malfoy with distaste.

Just as Malfoy was about to bite back some remark, a prefect stepped out of his compartment and frowned at our ‘gathering’.

“You! Come here this instant!” The Prefect said pointing to Malfoy who looked very unhappy. “As for you four boys, back to your compartments,” and with that Malfoy slouched off down the corridor while James and I helped the boy up off the floor and into our compartment.

“Bloody hell mate. First day of school and you’ve already taken a beating,” James said to Peter who was looking at the three of us with open awe.

“What’d you do to get on Malfoy’s bad side?” Sirius asked.

Peter went on to tell us his story. It somehow involved a sandwich and a wand. Don’t ask.

After reintroducing ourselves to Peter, we were just getting back onto the topic of which house we wanted to be in when two girls fell through our compartment door.

I would be lying if I said I was only a little bit surprised and I think I can say the same for the other three.

One of the girls, Lily, fell into James lap. I’m pretty sure that’s when he started to fancy her.

When I looked for the other girl all I saw was her big, bright green eyes and her bleeding nose before she had fled from the compartment so fast, I wondered if she was ever really there or had I imagined her?

“Moony!” I was brought out of my reminisce when I heard Sirius call out to me. He was still halfway across the station, causing people to look in both of our directions.

I must say, I’m used to the attention now so I merely grinned and waited for Sirius to reach me. When he had fought his way through the crowd, I gave him a brotherly hug.

“I turn my back for one summer and I find you cheating on me?! And with Remus of all people!”

I laughed as I turned around to find James standing there hands on hips and fake shock on his face.

“It’s not what it looks like!” Sirius practically shrieked in a high pitched voice.

“You lived with me all summer and you never once told me! How could you!” James shouted back, his voice equally as high.

I just rolled my eyes before saying, “Hello James.”

James grinned before saying, “Hey mate!” and we did the whole manly brotherly hug thing again.

“Well I never!” Sirius said with a fake appalled look on his face.

“Bugger off hussy! Remus is mine!” James declared causing several girls to sigh in despair at the thought of James being gay.

“Nuh uh!” Sirius said back.

“Yuh huh!”

“Nuh uh!”

“Yuh huh!”

I just laughed and rolled my eyes and set off towards the train.

“Oh no he didn’t!” I heard James say which just caused me to laugh even more.

“Are you two ladies coming or what?” I asked with a raised eyebrow before stepping onto the train, not waiting for a reply.

I distinctly heard Sirius say, “Oh yes he did!”

I just shook my head and waited for the two idiots that I called my best friends to catch up before we moved further down the train, trying to find and empty compartment.

Sirius, who was leading, called over his shoulder, “This one’s empty!” before pushing open the door and waltzing in.

Was Sirius completely blind or just daft? How could he not see someone sitting in the corner of the compartment? And it was girl! Sirius can sniff out a girl within 15 seconds.

I took a seat next to James but didn’t have a chance to say hello or apologise to the girl for invading her compartment. James had already started telling a joke that Sirius had told him during summer.

As James finished his joke, it was rather funny; I chanced a glance at the girl and caught her eyes.

I tried to place her face. I could have sworn I’ve seen her around somewhere… I suddenly spotted her trunk with her name printed on it and I realised, a little guilty, that I knew who she was. She is in our house! I felt bad for not realising.

James and Sirius followed my gaze when they realised I wasn’t paying attention to their conversation. They finally noticed our other occupant.

Not wanting to be rude, and also I could tell she was getting uncomfortable with us just looking at her, I mean who wouldn’t, I said, “Hello.”

I thought she might be having some sort of problem breathing or something because all she did was sit there with her mouth hanging open, staring at me.

Now I know how she felt when we were staring at her. It is rather unnerving.

When Sirius laughed it seemed to knock her out of whatever thing she was doing and she managed to say, “Uh… h-hi.”

I tried to think of something to say but before I could even begin to think, Sirius asked, “So… what's your name?”

She mumbled something that none of us quite heard which caused James and Sirius to go on and ask her if her name was Bailey.

Sometimes I wonder if my friends could read. Her trunk clearly stated that her name was Shaylee. Though I did feel a little better knowing that I wasn’t the only one who had realised she was from our year.

“Her name is Shaylee,” I said to save her from James and Sirius’ ramblings.

“Ohh,” James and Sirius said in unison, “Why didn’t you say so?” I just shook my head at my two friends and turned back to Shaylee.

“Hi Shaylee, I’m Remus Lupin,” I said while extending my hand for her to shake.

She took my hand before saying, “I know!” which just caused me to laugh.

She looked like she was doing that whole ‘trouble breathing’ thing again. Just as I was about to ask her if she was alright, she fainted.

Just like that, her eyes closed and she fell forwards and would have come crashing to the ground if Sirius hadn’t caught her and held her up.

“Err Moony? What did you do to the poor girl?!” Sirius asked, struggling to keep himself and Shaylee from tumbling to the ground. I moved over to help him so that she was lying across the far seat.

“That must have been one hell of a hand shake!” James exclaimed trying to lighten the mood. I glared at him.

“Err… I’ll go find Lily shall I? I need to meet her in the heads compartment soon anyway. I’ll get her to come and see if she can do anything yeah?” James asked before he was out the door, not bothering to wait for an answer.

“What should we do?” I asked Sirius who turned out to not be much help.

He just shrugged and suggested, “We could pour some water on her? That always wakes James up when he’s mumbling about Evans in his sleep,” Sirius said with a wicked grin.

I just looked at him like he was crazy.

“We are not pouring water on her!”

“Why not?!” Sirius asked, frowning like he had just missed out on a treat.

“Because!” I said as if that closed the matter.

Sirius was about to reply until we heard Lily’s voice just outside our compartment.

“I swear Potter, if this is just a trick for me to sit in your compartment…” Lily said in her warning tone.

“It’s not I swear. We were just sitting with her and Remus was shaking her hand and she went all funny and just passed out,” James said just as they entered the compartment. “See?”

“Oh it’s Shaylee! I’ve actually been looking for her,” Lily said and crouched down beside Shaylee.

“You know her?” Sirius asked, confused. I’m pretty sure he thought that Shaylee was a new student or something.

Lily raised her eyebrows at them and said in a ‘duh’ voice, “Oh course I know her. She’s in our year to start with. Not to mention a Gryffindor!”

“She is?” James and Sirius asked at the same time.

“No I’m lying,” Lily said sarcastically, “Of course she is! She’s the one that pushed me into your lap in our first year!” Lily said, directing the last bit towards James.

“That was her?!” Sirius, James and I exclaimed in unison.

Lily just rolled her eyes and was about to say something when everyone’s attention was directed to the now waking up Shaylee.

We all crowded around her as her eyes fluttered open.

“Remus? What are you doing in the kitchen? I thought I told you too wait in my bedroom?” Shaylee muttered looking blearily around her.

My cheeks burned red as James and Sirius looked at me and then at Shaylee before bursting out laughing.

I glared at the pair of them rolling around on the ground clutching their sides and was about to yell at them to knock it off when I heard Shaylee say,

“Oh Merlin!”

A/N:Well then. That’s chapter 2 done! Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.

Review me! I command you! Well no. I don't really. But it really would be lovely if you did. Even if it's only to tell me about your pet gold fish, I will be happy! Well. Yes. That’s it really. (:

That’s it. I need to get out of here! Possibly to find a nice rock that I can hide under for the rest of eternity.

Hmm, that sounds quite nice actually. Wait, that means I have to dig a hole under said rock first in order for me to fit. That sound like a lot of work… Maybe the girls toilets will do for now until I gather the upper body strength…

“I…err… go pee now” Oh Merlin. Will the embarrassment never stop?!

Apparently not. Just as I got up so I could run from the compartment and never return, the train gave a jolt and I smacked my head into the door. Bloody brilliant.

“Are you alright?” I heard Remus ask me. I can’t look at him. If I do, I think I might die. It is possible to die of embarrassment I tell you!

“Oh Shaylee! You’re bleeding!” Lily cried out in surprising kindness. Maybe she wants something of mine? Wait, I’m bleeding?! Oh it’s just a nose bleed. I seem to get those when Remus Lupin and jolting trains are involved.

“Come on let’s go to the bathroom and get you cleaned up,” Lily said, again using her kind voice while gently moving me out of the compartment. Right, she defiantly wants something.

* * *

Well this is extremely awkward, not to mention weird. Lily and I are walking down the hall on our way to the loos so she can stop my bleeding nose and neither of us has said anything.

Well I’m not going to say anything until she does! I’m taking a vow of silence. That is, until Evans says something to me, therefore meaning she has spoken first, which means I win! Ahahahaha! Wait, what?

“Oh look, it’s raining.” I really would be a crap monk.

Lily Evans just smiled at me! I think the world is coming to an end! Any minute now there will be a gigantic boom and the world will cease to exist!

Okay so maybe it’s not the end of the world but its bloody weird!

Why did she smile at me anyway? All I said is it’s raining. Was it a, ‘Aha! It is indeed raining, thank you for pointing that out Shaylee. Now prepare for your doom!’ type of smile or just a, ‘Oh would you look at that, it is raining. Now prepare for your doom! ’

I’m not sure if I like either one.

“Okay. Sit on that sink there and I’ll be able to fix you right up!” Lily said somewhat cheerfully.

I’m not sure if I should trust her. I mean, what if she doesn’t really plan on fixing my nose at all and is really planning on murdering me and stuffing me down the toilet?

I hesitate while taking a quick glance at the closest toilet. It looks awfully small…

“I’m not going to do anything bad!” Lily said laughing, having noticed my hesitation.

Against my better judgment, I do end up jumping onto the sink and resist the urge to swing my legs like a little kid.

“This won’t hurt at all okay?” Lily said in a reassuring voice before, without even waiting for me to answer, rapping me on the nose with the end of her wand.

“OWW!!!” I exclaimed, before realising that it hadn’t actually hurt at all and the bleeding had stopped.

Lily seemed to know this because all she did was smile and say, “Oh it didn’t actually hurt!”

Well she is quite right but I would like to rap her on her nose and see how much she likes it!

“Here,” Lily said offering me a piece of wet paper towel. Okay so maybe I won’t hit her on the nose since she’s been so nice and all… But the question is why is she being so nice?

“Why are you being so nice?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Lily looked kind of shocked at first before grinning sheepishly. Hmm. How do sheep grin exactly? Oh Merlin, shut up!

“Look Shaylee. I know I haven’t been the nicest person too you,” Lily begun before I interrupted her with my raised eyebrows. “Okay, I haven’t been a nice person too you at all and for that I’m really sorry!”

I was very nearly quite speechless. Was Lily Evans apologising to me for being a mean person? This can’t be right.

“Err… well are you going to say anything?” Lily asked with a worried look on her face.

“Oh sorry. I, umm, forgive you?” I said, having realised I was just standing there looking at Lily with my mouth open. “I’m sorry too.”

Lily looked at my quizzically. “For you know, pushing you into James that day…” I mumbled.

Lily just laughed. “Look it’s okay. I can’t believe I held a grudge against you for that long all because of a silly little thing like that. Friends?” she said offering her hand for me to shake.

I smiled for the first time ever at Lily and took her hand before saying, “Friends!”

A/N: I’m sorry it’s really short! It’s just it felt like the right time to finish the chapter. Also I’m sorry that this chapter didn’t have much of Remus or the others in it.This chapter was needed! I think.

Thank you for those of you that have reviewed! I love, love, love you! I could love, love, love you too if you reviewed! You know you want to. If not, thanks for reading anyway! (:

What is she doing? First she’s talking when she’s half awake, seemingly about a dream she’s just had involving me and her bedroom, and now she is sitting there with her eyes closed mumbling to herself.

I think Sirius and James are close to wetting themselves because they are laughing so much.

Oh Merlin. She’s noticed that I’m looking at her and her face has gone instantly red. I think mine has been red since her little outburst.

She looks like she is just about to jump out the window. I think I might want to as well… Maybe I should just leave for a little while, let her get less embarrassed…

“I…err… go pee now,” I hear Shaylee say.

Just as I’m about to reply, she jumps up and makes a dash for the door but the train gives a rather big jolt. Oh no! She’s gone face first into the door!

“Are you alright?” I ask while standing up to help her.

“Oh Shaylee! You’re bleeding!” Lily points out and I realise she is indeed bleeding. Shaylee still hasn’t said anything but is now just feeling her nose, too just realising she is bleeding.

“Come on let’s go to the bathroom and get you cleaned up,” Lily says before pulling Shaylee out of the compartment.

Should I go with them to see if I can help? No, they’ll be going to the girl’s bathroom and that wouldn’t look too good if I was in there.

So I just slump back into my seat and glare at James and Sirius who are now mocking waking up and rambling about bedrooms and kitchens before falling about laughing again.

James is the first to notice my glaring, not to mention burning red face, and is trying to catch his breath so he can actually talk.

“Mo- Moony! What are you doing here?! I thought I told you to wait in my bedroom so I could come back and snog you senseless!” James manages to say before collapsing on the ground, holding his stomach, laughing.

Prat.

“Ye-yeah Remus! We wouldn’t want you to go wandering into any kitchens now!” Sirius wheezes out before he too collapses onto his seat, laughing his head off.

“Guys! Come on. It’s not that funny!” I try to desperately stop their laughter. Yeah like that’s going to work.

James and Sirius continue their laughter for another good 5 minutes before reducing it to random chuckles every now and then. Well it’s a start at least.

The compartment door opens and for one second I think its Shaylee back and I pray to god that James and Sirius don’t tease her. I needn’t worry. It's only Peter.

“Pete! Where have you been mate? We’re almost there!” Sirius says, having gotten up and clapping Peter on the back.

“So-sorry guys!” Peter pants as he clutches his sides and falls into a seat. “There was a wand and Slytherines and more wands…” He then goes on to mutter things about wands and a sandwich. We all nod understandingly. We really haven’t got the foggiest idea what he’s going on about.

Once Peter was done and had gotten his breath back completely, James and Sirius went on to tell him about the whole Shaylee, dream thing. In great detail might I add.

Great. Now they are back to laughing their heads off.

“Guys come on. Please don’t tease her,” I try to tell them sternly but all they do is grin back at me. “Or me for that matter!” I add as an afterthought. Their grins instantly drop to sulky faces.

“Aww come on Moony! Not even a little?” Sirius said with a fake pouty face.

“Yeah come on Remmy! Don’t ruin all our fun!” James said with an equally fake pouting face. Bloody Peter just sniggers.

“No,” I tell them sternly. Or at least I try.

I wonder where Shaylee is?

Shaylee’s POV

“Right, well since we have your nose sorted and our past is behind us, shall we go back to the compartment?” Lily asks me. I’m still trying to get used to this new nice Lily. Wait, did she say go back to the compartment?!

The compartment where I just made a total fool of myself? The same compartment where Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and James Potter are sitting in, probably all having a great laugh at my expense?

She has got to be kidding me right?

My disbelief at her absolutely ridiculous suggestion must have shown on my face because Lily said, “Err, well no. I guess you don’t.”

I just continue to look at her. I must say, she has rather nice eyebrows… Ugh shut up brain! I need to think about where I’m going to hide, I mean sit, no actually, I really do mean hide, from the Marauders. For the rest of the train ride. The rest of the school year. The rest of my life!

Okay, maybe that’s taking it a little bit too far. Wait, what am I saying?! Of course it’s not taking it too far!

“Umm… Shaylee?” Lily asks me, bringing me back from my ramblings. “We can go sit in the heads compartment if you like?”

I feel like giving Lily the biggest hug ever, but I think she will think I’m a crazy loon and send me back off to my compartment to face the Marauders. Right, must remember no hugging.

Not being able to speak for fear of random bursts of hugging, I just nod my head and follow Lily down the other end of the train to the Heads compartment.

Daaaaaam. Now I wish I was a prefect! They get such nice compartments. Such soft seats…

I go to sit down in the comfy looking seat before I spot a tray of treats placed across from me. I change direction and am half way through my third chocolate frog before Lily clears her throat. Perhaps she is getting a cold?

Ah well. There’s nothing I can do for her if she is. I just continue on eating.

Hmm. She’s still doing it. She better not be bloody choking!

I turn around so fast; I nearly make myself dizzy, completely ready to do the Heimlich if needed.

Oh, she’s not choking. She just wants my attention.

She raises an amused eyebrow at my fast spinning, not to mention mouth full of chocolate, before shaking her head and sitting down, indicating for me to do the same.

“So…” Lily starts as I sit down. “Remus eh?” she asks with a chuckle.

Oh god. She knows! How can she know?! Oh yes, that’s right. I ANNOUCED IT TO THE WHOLE BLOODY WORLD!

I just cover my face in my hands, almost as if I’m trying to hide. Which of course, I’m not.

Well maybe a little.

I can feel her staring at me, waiting for me to say something.

I will not crack! I am a tough rock! Never, never, never!

"Okay, okay! I admit it! I am totally embarrassed and would like to live under a nice mossy covered rock, never to face the human world again!" I practically shout, having given in to her staring.

Speaking of hiding under rocks, I shall befriend snails and bugs and they will be my bestest friends ever. Well, until I have to eat them for food. They don’t need to know that bit though…

“Ah come on Shaylee. It’s not that bad!” Lily says. How very wrong she is.

I look up from my hands and look at her smiling face. It’s rather convincing. Maybe it’s not that bad after all…

Just as I’m about to reconsider going off to live under my rock home, James Bloody Potter opens the compartment door saying,

“Lily my flower! How lovely to see you-” then he spots me and a wicked grin spreads over his face. “in my kitchen! AHAHAHA!” he finished before laughing like what he has just said is the funniest thing known to wizard kind.

“POTTER! Get out and don’t come back!” Lily yells at James, who goes off laughing down the corridor.

Right, face back into hands and mumbling about the best type of bug to eat.

“I cannot believe him! He just comes in here and makes fun of you! Ugh! And to think I was starting…” Lily was ranting, walking, more like stomping if you ask me, around the compartment yelling about James. Until she suddenly stopped what she was saying and glanced at me.

I had since looked up when she said her last sentence. She was just starting to what…?

Oohh. Is she blushing?! Oh my god, she is!

Lily and I just sit in silence for a few seconds before I break it by saying,

“So… James eh?”

Ha. It is time for Lily to cover her face.

I move over to her seat and pat her on the back, “It’s okay love. At least you haven’t told him,” Oh great. Now I’ve reminded myself.

Lily looks up at me and smiles. “Your right” she says. Well that makes me feel good.

Not.

Is this the type of sacrifices I’m supposed to make for my friends?

The next 10 minutes is spent in a comfortable silence. Well except for when Lily and I would look at each other, giggle and blush, cover our faces in our hands and then do it all over again.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t that comfortable or silent. But it was oddly fun.

After this happened for about the fourth time, Lily sighed and said, “I feel like I’m 13 again, giggling over boys and feeling embarrassed.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” I answer her back. I don’t really but I don’t want her to know that.

After more silence, I decide to ask Lily a question.

“So. How long?” Maybe I shouldn’t be asking her this so soon into the new friendship, but oh well. I want to know!

“Excuse me? How long is what?” Lily asks back, looking confused.

“How long have you know. Liked Ja-” I was cut off by Lily shouting over me, drowning out my words.

“Okay, okay! I understand now!”

When she didn’t say anything else, I looked at her expectantly.

“Well?”

“Well what?” Lily asked, obviously playing dumb.

I grinned before saying “You know, liked JAMES!” before she could yell over me again. That’ll teach her for playing dumb. Teach her what exactly, I have no clue.

“SHAYLEE!” Lily shrieked. She can really yell loud that girl. I had to cover my ears with my hands just to save my hearing.

“Gosh Lily! No need to yell! I’m right here!” Then I realised that I was the one yelling now because I still had my hands over my ears.

“You had better pray to god that no one heard you!” Lily hissed at me. Now I know why James always looks so scared when Lily yells at him. She is rather terrifying.

I just laugh nervously and move back to my own seat where I pretend to find my fingers very interesting. We ended up just talking about random things, Lily completely avoiding the topic of James. I let it go because I didn’t want to mess up the first friendship I managed to stumble into.

After another twenty minutes, I get bored of our small talk and said to Lily, “Has this train ride gone forever or what?”

Just as she goes to answer me, the conductor’s voice says from overhead, “The Hogwarts Express will be arriving at Hogsmeade station in five minutes.”

We grin at each other like grinning, err, girls.

That is before I realise that getting off the train means going the feast where I will have to sit at the Gryffindor table. The same table that The Marauders will be sitting at. The same table Remus will be sitting at.

Oh Merlin. Why do you hate me so?

A/N:Well that’s chapter 4! This chapter was all about building Lily and Shaylee’s friendship so I hope you liked it! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I love reading them all and try to answer as many as I can. Speaking of reviews! If you feel like it, please leave me one telling me what you thought!

“Do you think one of us should go and check that Lily hasn’t murdered Shaylee?” Sirius asked no one in particular.

“I will! Though I’m sure we will find Shaylee in perfect health, in case you were worried Remus. We sure wouldn’t want you to worry that you don’t have someone to snog anymore!” James joked and before I could even begin to glare at him, he was out the door.

Sirius laughed but stopped when he saw my glaring, red face.

“Ahh Moony. Don’t be mad. It’s only harmless teasing,” Sirius said as if that closed the matter and that I should no longer be mad.

I just sighed and picked up the book I was currently reading.

After a short few minutes, James came stumbling into the compartment. No, he had not found a bottle of firewiskey and was now off his arse drunk. (It happened in fifth year, so I understand why you may have thought that).

He came stumbling in because he was laughing so much.

I had a bad feeling this had to do with the ‘The Accident’.

“What’s so funny Prongs?” I asked, even though I’m not sure I want to know.

All James could gasp out was “Lily...Shaylee... in...kitchen... AHAHAHA!”

Sirius looked to me with raised eyebrows, almost like he expects me to have understood one word James has just said.

“James, mate, shut up,” Sirius said after James continued to laugh.

“Okay, okay. I’m good,” he finally managed to control his laughter.

Our compartment has finally started to settle down. And by that I mean James is no longer laughing like a crazy person.

Now they are just planning our start of year prank. No doubt it will be on the Slytherins. They never seem to tire of an angry mob of Slytherins, who last year all had bright green hair and missing eyebrows, chasing after us through the corridors.

“Remus! You can do the Orchideous spell right?” James asks me suddenly.

“Erm... sure, but why do you want to conjure a bunch of flowers?” I asked, confused as to how this is going to aid us in our first prank. I know Slytherins aren’t the biggest fans of flowers but I don’t see how that’s going to upset them.

James opened his mouth to say something but Sirius beat him to it.

“Wormtail has finally decided to announce his love for ‘Acne Amy’ from Slytherin! James and I are helping him. We all know from Herbology last year, how much Amy loves flowers!” Sirius said with such a straight face that I almost believed him. I would have believed him if it wasn’t for the horrified look on Peters face.

“WHAT?!” Pete yelled in confusion. “What are you talking about?! I never said such thing! I thought we were planning on ---” but James cut him off, having caught onto Sirius’ joke.

“Oh come on Pete! It’s okay. You’re amongst friends,” James said kindly while, what I assume is meant to be an encouraging smile but was more of I’m-trying-my-hardest-not-to-laugh-my-head-off kind of smile.

“Remember, there are no secrets with the Marauders,” Sirius reminded Pete, who was now sitting there looking completely confused.

I really do feel sorry for him sometimes. James and Sirius know he’s an easy target. It’s all in good fun of course. But sometimes they forget to tell him that they were only joking.

Like that one time we were out on the grounds and sitting under one of the shady trees. Sirius and James managed to convince Peter that flesh eating flobberworms were known to fall from the trees at any time and that they went for short people in particular.

Ever since Pete now glares up at every tree, almost like he is trying to intimidate the non-existent, flesh eating flobberworms.

Sighing, but slightly smiling from the memory, I put Peter out of his misery.

“They're only kidding Pete. They are just being idiots,” I said while shaking my head at them with mock disappointment.

“Moony! Why do you always have to ruin our fun?” James pouted while Sirius looked at me with fake sad eyes.

“You guys are id-” I had laughed and had begun to say but James stopped me when he gasped.

“What’s up James? Have you just figured out that you fancy Amy to?” Sirius asked, looking slightly worried.

“SHHHH!” James hushed Sirius.

“Oi! Don’t you shu-” Sirius had begun to tell James but he merely did it again. He quickly got up and went to the compartment door. He slowly slid the door open and stuck his head out. The rest of us just looked on curiously. After a minute or so, James popped his head back into the compartment and shut the door, looking disappointed.

“I thought I saw Lily walk past but it wasn’t her,” James explained before anyone could ask. We all just rolled our eyes. Trust James to shut us all up just so he could perve on Lily.

We decided to play a game of exploding snap and before we knew it, the conductor’s voice was announcing, “The Hogwarts Express will be arriving at Hogsmeade station in five minutes.”

We all made a move to change into our robes except for James. He had been distracted ever since he thought he saw Lily walk past. He had almost lost his eyebrows when he was too slow to react to the exploding pile of cards. Now he was just sitting, gazing out the window.

Sirius just sighed before throwing his wand at James’ head. It managed to hit him on the cheek causing a big red mark to instantly appear.

The hit to the face made James jolt and look around wildly.

“Hey! What’d you do that for?” he asked Sirius, who was grinning innocently.

Sirius tried to look as innocent as possible before saying, “Whatever do you mean?”

“You just threw your wand at me!” James said back to Sirius, brandishing Sirius’ wand around.

“James! I am appalled that you would think that I would do such a thing. Me, throw something at you? Never! I thought you knew me better than that!” Sirius said sadly and shook his head in disappointment.

“Oh so your wand just magically flew out of your hands, came directly towards me and hit me in the face, all by a complete accident?” James asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Well, yeah,” Sirius said with a complete look of innocence on his face. I think James actually started to believe him before I said,

“Nice shot!” with an impressed nod.

“Why thank you. I’ve been practicing over the summer,” Sirius said, having not yet realised that he had just admitted to hitting James.

James just glared at Sirius and promised to get him later.

“What were you thinking about anyway? You had a stupid grin on your face and everything,” Wormtail asked James who was now engaged in a staring contest with Sirius.

While continuing with his staring at Sirius, he grinned and said, “Lily of course! I think this is the year she falls madly in love with me!”

“You what?” Sirius asked, his eyes watering.

“It is, trust me. I can just feel it,” James said with a dreamy sigh.

“Are you sure you’re not delusional?” I asked. I mean this is Lily we are talking about. She once used such a powerful Jelly-Legs jinx on James that he couldn’t walk properly for days.

“I am not delusional! I just know okay!” James said defensively.

“Okay, okay. Whatever you say,” Sirius said, still not giving up the staring contest. I'm sure he’s about to blink at any moment.

“I just have to figure out how to make it happen. I know I tried that love potion in third year but do you think one would work now?” James asked thoughtfully.

“What?!” Sirius, Peter and I all asked at the same time. James really is delusional. I hadn’t even known he used a love potion in third year.

“Oh, um, nothing!” James said quickly. He was still looking strong on the staring contest front.

“Mate, you are mental,” Sirius said, while struggling with trying not to blink.

“Oh shut up Sirius. I’m getting desperate okay!” James said while glaring at Sirius. “This is our last year at Hogwarts! The time is now of never!”

He has proven to be rather good at not blinking. Hmm, I wonder if he has been practicing not blinking while Sirius was practicing throwing things at his face?

“If you say so,” I heard Sirius mutter.

I decided to say something before James and Sirius could start arguing.

“Okay then, why are you still here? If you really do want Lily to like you, and you think time is running out, I’d have thought you would have went running out of here to kidnap her or something as equally ridiculous. Which you would think was a good idea,” I said and smirked at him. I was enjoying teasing James, while watching Sirius with his eyes now scrunched up, but not closed, in a last attempt not to blink.

“Because,” James said as if what he was about to say was meant to be completely obvious and he couldn’t believe I didn’t know, “I have a plan!”

And with that, Sirius, Peter and I all groaned and rolled our eyes, which caused Sirius to lose the staring contest.

Shaylee’s POV:

“What about that one?” Lily asks, pointing towards a carriage with two people already getting into it.

“Nuh uh,” I say, shaking my head and searching for another carriage.

“And why not? That is the third one you have turned down. What’s wrong with them?” Lily asked, frowning now.

“Okay. The first one had Alan Stapples in it. Now I have no problem with him, he’s a lovely boy and all, it’s just his gas problem that I have a dilemma with,” I say while craning my neck to see over the crowd.

“The second one was filled with snooty Hufflepuffs. I’m sure those Hufflepuffs have hidden dark sides. They all can’t be rays of sunshine right? I’m positive that one once hissed at me after we beat them at quidditch. I was rather scared for my life,” I continued on before looking around at Lily when she said,

“I don’t know what you are talking about. The Hufflepuffs have always been nice to me”

“Mmm,” I say, not exactly paying attention. Is the platform always this crowded?

“Okay, so what was wrong with that one then?” Lily asked while pointing over at the carriage she had just suggested.

“Slytherines. Need I say more?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lily didn’t say anything but I saw her shake her head and roll her eyes.

Hmm, I’d better find us a compartment quickly before she gets annoyed at me. But which one?

No, no, no, no, maybe... oh wait, no.

Are there no decent carriages these days?! Oh wait, there’s one.

“Quick Lily, over here!” I grabbed onto Lily’s wrist and pulled her over to a waiting, empty, carriage.

“Are you sure that there is nothing wrong with this one?” Lily asked me, obviously sarcastic.

“Well... it could do with a better paint job...” I began to say but soon saw Lily’s face, “Kidding! Kidding...”

“Just get in you big complainer!” Lily said while pushing me into the carriage. She hopped up in after me.

Just as I was about to swing the door shut, I heard someone calling out to us.

“Wait! Don’t close the door!”

“Who is that?” I asked Lily, squinting into the darkness.

“I’m not actually sure... but whoever it is, is extremely loud. They have to be at least 20 meters away,” Lily replied, also squinting. Geez, we both need to get our eyes checked.

“Come on Wormtail! You can run faster than that! Pick up those legs boy!” another voice shouted, closer this time.

Lily and I looked at each other at the same time, both having figured out who it was running towards our carriage.

“The Marauders,” we both said at the same time before scrambling to shut the door.

“Oh Merlin Lily! I can’t face them yet! Hell, I can’t face them ever!” I murmured to Lily who was looking at me with sympathy.

“Oi! They closed the door on us!” I heard someone, who I now recognized as Sirius’ voice, say. They sounded like they were really close.

“Hurry up and move you stupid carriage!” I shouted at the carriage. It didn’t seem to have heard me.

Stupid carriage.

“Yelling isn’t going to help anything, we need to think about this...” Lily said in a calm voice.

“Thinking is not going to help us Lily! We need to---” but I was cut off by,

“Hello ladies!”

Stupid James Potter.

Lily and I both screamed in fright. We hadn’t even noticed that the door had been opened.

Before either of us could say anything, James and Sirius had already climbed into the carriage, James squashing in between Lily and I and Sirius sitting on the seats opposite us. Next climbed in a breathless Peter. His face was red and he was gasping in air while mumbling darkly to himself. He slumped down in the seat next to Sirius.

And lastly, the boy who I was praying I would never have to see again, which was ridiculous of course, climbed into the carriage before shutting the door behind him.

Remus sat on the last remaining seat next to Sirius. He took a quick glance at me before looking away quickly.

My face feels like it is going to melt off! It is burning in embarrassment. I still can’t believe I said that!

The carriage gave a slight jolt as it started moving up towards the castle. I’m feeling incredibly awkward at the moment. Remus looks just about as awkward as I am. Sirius is trying to get Peter’s breathing back to normal by whacking him on the back. I for some reason don’t think that is working very well. And James is just looking at Lily, not saying anything.

He is a rather odd boy isn’t he?

Lily was too just looking at James with an odd look on her face. When Sirius gave Peter a rather loud whack on the back, Lily seemed to shake her head slightly, as if ridding herself of a daze and coughed to clear her throat. James continued to look at her.

“What are you looking at Potter?” Lily asked in an annoyed voice that didn’t sound that annoyed.

“Huh? What? Oh sorry,” James said before looking away.

Lily speaking had caught the attention of the other three boys and we were all now looking at James and Lily who both seemed to be blushing.

“What?” James and Lily both asked at the same time.

This caused Sirius and Remus to smirk.

James just rolled his eyes before looking at me.

“Why hello Shaylee,” he said, a sly grin on his face.

Oh God. What does he want? It’s going to be something bad. Something embarrassing I am willing to bet 10 galleons.

“I was just wondering, what you were dreaming about when you, er, fell asleep on the train?”

I hate you James Potter.

“I... er... um I was...” I stuttered, trying desperately to think.

Sirius, Remus and Peter were all looking at me with curiosity.

“Uhh...”

“A party,” Lily said matter of factly.

“A party?” Sirius asked, confused. He wasn’t the only one confused.

A what? Party? I don’t remember dreaming about a party.

I looked at Lily confused, as did everyone else.

“Yes, a party. When I was helping Shaylee with her nose bleed, she told me about her dream. It was an early graduation party wasn’t it Shaylee?” Lily asked me causing everyone else to look at me.

What in the name of Dumbledore’s blooming knickers is she talking about?

“Uhh... Yeah! Because you know how it is our last year and all. So when I passed out from the... uh... thought of this being our last year... I had a dream... about a party,” I said, hopping I sounded at least a little bit convincing. “I get over excited easily.”

“So you had a dream about having a party? And Remus was there?” Sirius asked, still sounding slightly confused and a bit disappointed.

“Well, yes Remus was in it. And so were Lily and James and you and Peter and that really annoying Ravenclaw girl... oh wait. Isn’t she your girlfriend?” I asked Sirius before shaking my head dismissively, “Who cares. Basically every other seventh year was there. Like Lily said, it was a graduation party!”

“Oh. Well then, that’s completely different from what I was thinking. That’s not nearly as good as I thought it would be,” Sirius said, sounding kind of disappointed. He looked like he was going to say something else when he paused. Suddenly, a sly grin spread across his face.

“Hey Shaylee, didn’t you say, ‘I thought I told you to wait in my room’? What were you and Remus doing in your room?” Sirius asked with a new curiosity in his eyes.

Oh crap. I hate you to Sirius Black.

Everyone is looking at me now. What do they want from me?!

Stupid Sirius and his stupid questions.

Think think think! Brain, why do you never work when I want you to?!

“I have a big room? Yeah! I have a big room so that’s where the party was. In my big, big room,” Does that make sense?

“Oh,” Sirius said before sighing.

They believed me! I can’t believe it! Huzzah! I would do a victory dance but I don’t think that this is the time. I shot Lily a thankful smile and she smiled back. It felt really good to have a friend right now.

When we get to our dormitory, I swear I will give Lily the biggest hug in the world! And let her borrow my clothes whenever she wants! And let her have the bathroom before me! Wait, well maybe I’ll let her go second... I’ve seen how long she takes in there!

As the carriage bumped its way towards the castle we all made small talk. It mostly consisted of James and Sirius joking with each other. Watching them, I started to realise who I'm sharing a compartment with. I wonder how many girls would actually kill me to be sitting where I am right now.

Oh Merlin, now I’m getting paranoid that there is going to be a crazed girl waiting for our carriage to arrive at the castle, wielding her wand at me.

Just as I think this, our carriage does pull up to the castle. I was only kidding before but now I'm not so sure... now I know I’m a Gryffindor and I’m meant to be brave, and I like to think I am, it’s just... have you seen those fan girls when they are angry?! If it was between fighting a dementor and a fan girl... well I choose the dementor, hands down.

“Erm... you can go first Peter,” I say, laughing nervously and practically pushing Peter out of the carriage.

Well, Peter hasn’t been attacked. That’s a good sign. Maybe I’ll just let James and Remus get out first...

Okay, they haven’t been attacked either. I should be safe... right?

I step hesitantly out of the carriage and glance around. Hurray! No crazed gi---

“ARGH!” I scream out of shock and fear for my life. Just when I thought I was safe, a crazed looking girl leaps out at me and flings her arms around my neck.

“Oh my God Sirius! I haven’t seen you in like forever!” squealed the girl who was still clinging around my neck, cutting off my air supply.

She is trying to strangle me! Get her off me! Wait, did she say Sirius?

“I am not Sirius!” I wheeze out, “I can’t breathe... help?!” I ask to anyone who can understand me.

“Emma?” Sirius asks as he steps last out of the carriage. How odd it must look for him to see his annoying girlfriend clinging around my neck like she’s in love with me, and me standing there struggling to breathe.

Oh I don’t care how it looks! I just want her to let go!

Just when I think I'm about to pass out for the second time today, ‘Emma’ finally let’s go of me.

I gasp for air. I am free! Oh the world has never looked so beautiful! I’m so happy to be alive!

James, Remus and Peter were just getting over their laughing fit they were just having over Emma nearly killing me, and were now walking towards us with amused smirks on their faces.

Stupid boys.

When they got to us, James went to say something when we heard,

“Sirius!”

Oh Merlin! She strikes again!

Well, at least this time she has the right person... I think. It’s rather hard to see the poor person being suffocated.

This starts James, Peter and Remus off again and Lily and I can’t help joining them. It does look rather funny.

Oh God. It’s not funny anymore. It looks like Emma is trying to eat Sirius’ face. It’s rather nauseating now. Poor chap; imagine what it must be like for him.

“Err, let’s leave them to it shall we?” James asked before walking up the stone steps and into the Entrance Hall that was crowded with students.

It was amazing! As soon as we were in the Entrance Hall, people moved aside for Lily, Remus, James and Peter!

The walk that should have been a struggle to even get near the Great Hall doors was as easy as walking in an empty street.

It seems that Lily’s new Head Girl status and James, Remus and Peter being a part of the most exclusive and popular group at Hogwarts, caused people to step aside for them.

I felt very out of place next to them. It was like they were celebrities and I was just normal person tagging along.

The other students seemed to agree that I was not worthy. As soon as Remus, who was walking just in front of me, (I know, I can’t believe it either), passed them, they would all bunch back up together and block my path.

I sighed and called out to Lily over the heads of several students who were now standing between us.

“Lily!” I shouted to get her attention. She looked around behind her and it took her a moment to find me in the crowd. “I’ll catch you up inside okay? It may take me a while to fight my way through this!” I said while being jostled around by impatient students.

Lily went to walk towards me but someone who I couldn’t see called out and beckoned for her. She mouthed ‘sorry’ before hurrying over to Professor Flitwick, who I managed to see was the one that was calling her.

Sirius laughed and nodded. “I know what you mean. I dated one last year and when I broke up with her...” he grimaced, remembering whatever had happened.

How very odd it must look for me, ‘What’s-Her-Name’, to be talking to the most popular person at Hogwarts. What’s even odder is that I don’t feel awkward at all. Now that’s a first.

“Well, I’m starving!” Sirius said before looking down at me. “What about you?”

“I’m really hungry but it’s going to take an age for me to get through this. You go ahead and I shall battle my way into the Great Hall!” I said laughing. Sirius laughed and shook his head.

“Now what kind of man would I be if I left a lady to fend for herself in a mob of ravenous teenagers?” Sirius asked.

“A hungry man?” I guessed and grinned at him. I’m not quite sure this is happening. Surely I am not talking to Sirius Black like a normal person.

Sirius laughed again and rolled his eyes.

“Well then, if you're prepared to wait this out with me, you're welcome to. Even though you could walk straight through there and people would move happily for you,” I said while rolling my eyes. It’s not fair!

Sirius raised his eyebrows and looked at me like I was stupid.

“I don’t plan on waiting, are you crazy?!” he asked me.

Oh Merlin. Now I’ve made myself look like a fool. As if Sirius Black would ever want to wait with me.

I didn’t say anything. I had to turn my burning face away from Sirius so he couldn’t see how embarrassed I was.

I jumped slightly when I felt someone’s arm around my shoulder. I looked up and saw Sirius looking down at me with a big grin on his face.

“You're not going to wait either. Now let’s go!” he said and before I knew what was happening, I was walking through the crowded Entrance Hall with Sirius Black’s arm around my shoulders.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please, if you feel like it, leave me a review? xx

If I could have one galleon for ever pair of eyes that stared at Sirius and I as we walked through the crowd, well I would be freaking rich!

My face is bright red that I know for sure because I can feel it burning, threatening to melt off my face completely.

Hmm. Could you imagine if that happened? How odd would you lo-

I was cut off from my thoughts about melting faces when Sirius, who still had his arm around me, walked us slowly past a group of insultingly shocked looking fifth year girls.

“Who is that?”

“Is that the Sirius Black?”

“It is… but who is she?!”

“Do I look like I know?”

“Well I just thought you might know…”

“She must be new. I’ve never even seen her before”

“Since when do we get new students other than the first years?”

“She doesn’t look like no first year to me… I mean look at her… erm…” the girl looked awkward before muttering, “boobs”

All the girls giggled loudly. I hate them.

Oh good Merlins undies. Please, PLEASE, not have let Sirius have heard them…

I risk a sideways glance at Sirius, just to check.

Well this is extremely awkward.

I now have had six, lesbian suspicious, girls and Sirius Black ogling my breasts all in the span of a minute.

Bloody brilliant.

As we past the girls, FINALLY, I turn back to glare at them. Stupid girls. Why boys even bloody like them, I will never know! Let’s completely disregard the fact that I am a girl alright?

Once I have finished my evil eye glaring, I turn back to find Sirius still staring at my… things.

I quickly cross my arms over my chest, praying to Merlin that I’m not making them any bigger.

“Oh… um…” Sirius says awkwardly. He seems to have taken the hint and is now looking away embarrassed.

HAHAHA! I have made Sirius Black embarrassed. I deserve some sort of medal or something… No?

“So…” I say as awkwardly as he did. How long does it take to get to the freaking Great Hall?!

Oh. We’re here.

Okay. I want to be back in the Entrance Hall. There were less people out there.

I know I complained about being unnoticed but that was all just crazy talk! I want to be invisible again! STOP LOOKING AT ME! Oh wait. Yelling that in my head isn’t going to help.

Dangit.

“Are you okay?” Sirius asks me. I only just realised that I have had an odd look on my face, an odd look that looks suspiciously like constipation.

Oh Merlin. And here comes even more face melting heat, right on cue.

Sirius is still looking at me in concern. Yeah I would be looking at me weirdly as well, if I wasn’t myself… does that make sense? Oh who cares!

“Umm yeah I’m fine…” I gulped visibly, “There’s, um, people looking at us” I say while trying to avoid actually looking at someone.

Sirius looked at me for a long moment before he cracked up laughing. This only caused more people, if that was even possible, to look at us.

Sirius was still laughing as we made our way down the Gryffindor table to where the rest of The Marauders and Lily, surprisingly, sat. They were looking at us like we had parsnip growing out of our noses or something. I really do hope I don’t have Parsnip growing out of my nose because I don’t need any more reasons for people to look at me right now.

When we finally made it to the table, everyone was still ogling us like two… ogling things. I would just like to let you know, I am not an ogling thing.

I quickly slipped out from under Sirius’ arm and slide into the seat next to Lily. It took me a moment to realise that James, Remus (Oh God), Lily and Peter were looking from me to Sirius and back again, like they were watching a tennis match or something.

Oh please stop looking!

Just when I was about to die from all the looking, Professor McGonagall walked into the Great Hall with a gaggle of scared looking first years.

Everyone has finally stopped looking! Oh thank you Merlin!

Instead, everyone watched as McGonagall placed the Sorting hat on the stool before unrolling a long list of students yet to be sorted.

“Arizina, Adam” came the first name.

Everyone watched as a small mousy hair boy walked slowly towards the sorting hat. He looked terrified as he sat upon the stool and the hat was placed onto his head.

30 seconds later, the hat called out, startling everybody,

“Hufflepuff!”

The boy hoped off the stool and quickly walked towards the table that was cheering the loudest, and took his seat as McGonagall called out the next name,

“Acton, Bianca”

“Slytherin!”

“Baker, Bronte”

“Ravenclaw!”

“Barrette, Samson”

“Gryffindor!”

“Oh this is going to take forever!” Sirius groaned loudly, letting his head drop onto his folded arms.

“Shh!” Lily scolded him without looking away from the first years.

Another zillion years later, “Zanders, Sven” McGonagall called out the name of the last first year that was to be sorted.

A young boy who looked like he was about to wet himself, walked nervously up to the sorting hat. But when he did reach it, he merely stood staring at it like it was about to leap off the stool in a flying dive and strangle him.

“Well put it on” said McGonagall while many students snickered. But the terrified boy just shook his head and was inching away from the hat.

“Just put the damned hat on already!” moaned Sirius, loudly enough for most of the hall to hear, while massaging his rumbling stomach.

I, along with Remus and James, couldn’t help but laugh which we soon stopped when Lily gave us a look that said ‘If-you-don’t-stop-laughing-I-will-turn-your-head-into-a-pumpkin!’ Trust me, it’s scary.

I had to quickly turn away or I would crack up laughing again. That’s when I noticed that the scared first year boy was now sitting on the stool. How he got there, I have no idea but he seemed to be there against his own will.

"Ravenclaw!” shouted the sorting hat.

The scared boy practically ran over to the Ravenclaw table, tripping on his too long robes in his haste.

“Finally!” Sirius practically shouted with a look of pure joy on his face.

I laughed quietly under my breath, in fear of Lily, and turned my attention towards the now standing Professor Dumbledore who had begun addressing the school,

“Welcome new students and welcome back to the old. There is time for speeches but now is not it. To the pleasure of Mr. Black I’m sure, let the feast begin!” he then resumed his seat smiling and engaging in conversation with Professor Slughorn.

James and Sirius cheered while Lily just rolled her eyes before reaching for the potatoes.

The hall was filled instantly with the buzz of girls chatting and boys stuffing their faces.

I must say, watching James and Sirius have a competition to see who can stuff the most food into their mouth is not the most pleasant thing to endure while you’re eating but it is oddly amusing.

It is especially funny when Sirius pretends to dramatically choke, falls off his chair and indicates that he needs mouth to mouth.

Only problem, it’s rather disgusting when a girl is actually willing to give him mouth to mouth while there is a half chewed concoction of mutilated food rolling around in his mouth.

Welcome back to Hogwarts.

A/N:Sorry this chapter is pretty much a filler/so short! Just wanted to get Shaylee a little more settled with everyone. Thanks for reading!

“Lily” I whined, dragging out the last part of her name, “Do we really have to lead the first years all the way to the dormitories? I’m tired and I know much, much quicker ways…” I trailed off, looking hopefully to Lily.

Lily said quietly to me, “Shaylee! We can’t just let them wander off on their own!”

“I don’t see why not…” I muttered.

Lily heard me and slightly glared at me but decided to ignore me.

She then went on to say, “Now when we get to the entrance of Gryffindor tower, you are required to say a password. The password will be changed from time to time, so if you have any trouble with remembering it, don’t hesitate to ask me or any of the other prefects” Lily said smiling kindly at all the quite scared looking firsties.

“Oh yes, please do ask them LOTS of questions, they just love it, especially Lily. Even early in the morning. While she’s still in her pyjamas and everything” I said while smiling at them, trying my hardest not to laugh.

Lily was looking at me with a mixture of shock and irritation on her face. She is rather frightening. Maybe I should just wait here a bit, let her go ahead and cool off.

I started slowing down before mumbling something about my foot having a cramp.

Lily gave me one last glare as they continued walking down the corridor. As they got to the corner, I heard a little boy ask, “Is that true?”

I could barely contain my laughter. Once Lily was safely around the corner, I laughed myself silly.

During my laughing fit, I failed to realise that the Marauder boys had caught up with me and were now just standing there looking at me like I was a loon.

“Err, Shaylee? Are you alright? You’re not choking or anything right? Because I mean if you are, I really haven’t a clue what to do…” Sirius said, causing me to immediately try to stop laughing, which wasn’t such a great idea because I did actually end up choking on my own spit.

Death by spittle. That’d be a good conversation starter.

“Oh god, she is choking! James do something!” Sirius said sounding panicky.

“What?! What am I meant to do?! Remus do something!” James said, sounding just like Sirius.

Oh my god! No, no, no!

Before Remus could even begin to say anything, I threw my hands up and gasped in air.

“I’m alright!” I practically shouted.

“Are you sure?” Remus asked looking at me with concern or fear; I couldn’t really tell what it was as my eyes were watering.

“Nrrrrgh” was all that came out of my mouth.

I had actually planned to say, ‘Why yes Remus, I am perfectly fine. Thank you so much for asking. I am also in no way insane and that I think you are a gift to all women’. Yeaaaah. It didn’t quite come out the way I planned.

“So what were you laughing so hard at anyway?” Peter asked me.

“Oh just something Lily and I were talking about” I said, smiling at the memory.

James looked interested at the mention of Lily’s name but I didn’t say anything further.
Instead, we all just stood around awkwardly. What are we doing? Should I say something? Why aren’t they saying anything? Is Peter picking his nose?!

“Peter?” I asked.

He jumped slightly at the sound of his name and moved his hand away from his nose. HE WAS!

Ew.

“I was just scratching!” Peter said defensively once he realised that I had caught him.

I just nodded while really thinking ‘Suuuuure’.

Meanwhile, the other boys just looked from me to Peter.

“Okay… I’m going to bed” James said. We all nodded in agreement and started walking towards the tower.

Well this isn’t awkward at all. Not. We’re just walking in silence. It’s because I’m here. God, why did you not give me social skills? Is it punishment for that one time when I was 5 and I dressed up my mum’s statue of you? I mean, it was a really pretty dress and I tried my hardest to make the makeup nice… you should be grateful that my mum stopped me before I tried to set you up with one of my other boy dolls…

While I was pondering why God didn’t give me any social skills, we had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

“Password?” she asked in a bored tone.

“Dilligrout” Remus said and the painting swung forward and the boys all climbed through with me following them.

“Dilligrout? Why can’t they make the bloody passwords something I can actually remember?!” I muttered to myself, not realising that the boys could hear me.

“I was just thinking the same thing!” James called back to me from the front of the group and the other boys chuckled.

I blushed but felt oddly pleased. James Potter thinks about the same things I do. Doo dah doo dah.

Wait. That would make him insane.

Hmm.

I had just gotten inside the common room when I heard, “Shaylee!”

Oh crap. I had completely forgotten about Lily.

She was on the other side of the common room, near the dormitory staircases. She started advancing, looking rather mad.

The Marauders were looking amusedly from Lily to I, wandering what was going on.

Great bloody help they're being.

“Uh hi Lily!” I said as cheerfully as I could while trying to subtly move around behind the boys. The big strong boys…

“Don’t you ‘hi Lily’ me!” she practically shrieked.

I had positioned myself perfectly behind James and Sirius. If she was to use her wand, she would at least hit them first…

“You two. Move” Lily said in a deathly low voice.

And they did move!

I stared at them with shock and horror on my face.

James saw the look on my face and he gave me a grimacing sorry look.

Lily had made her way across the room and there was now only a table between us. I hope that table is sturdy…

There were amused on lookers, looking on. Stupid looking lookers. Help me!

“I, uh… nrrrgh” was all I could manage before I took off running. I darted around Remus and Peter who had both started laughing. Oh crap, I was coming up to a couch and it would take to much time to run around it.

Here goes nothing…

I made it! YESSSS!

I take the stairs to the girls dormitory two at a time. By the time I reach the top I’m bloody buggered. If I live through tonight, I vow that I will exercise tomorrow.

If I wasn’t running in fear of Lily, I would have laughed myself silly at the look on my three startled looking room mates faces as I burst through the door of the seventh year girl’s dormitory.

I flung myself onto my bed and drew the curtains around, muttered a spell which only allowed my curtains to be opened by me, then flopped back onto my bed and tried to regain my breath.

Over my ragged breathing, I could hear the others whispering.

“Err, Shaylee? Are you alright?” Alice asked. She always was one of the nicer ones. I could almost see Demelza rolling her eyes at Alice for even talking to me.

I never really have liked her, the swotty cow.

“I’m fine” I managed to say. I wasn’t able to say anything else because at that exact moment, Lily, or I'm assuming it is Lily, flung the door open and stomped into the room.

“Lily, what’s goi-” Hestia had started to say but I can only guess that Lily silenced her with a look.

“Shaylee! I can’t believe you did that! I’ve already had four of them ask me if I would walk them to all of their classes tomorrow! Do you know how late that’s going to make me? What if I miss something important?!” Lily shrieked at me in a state close to hysteria.

“Lily calm down!” I shouted to her from the safety of behind my curtains. “You DID say for them to ask you questions…” I immediately regretted saying that last part as Lily had began ranting again.

Sighing, I just curled up under my blankets and waited for Lily to stop. I must have drifted off somewhere mid point of her worrying about failing her NEWTS because she was going to miss the first few minutes of seventh year classes, because the next thing I know, it’s morning.

How did I know it was morning without even having to open my eyes? Because the bloody birds were chirping away in a chirping way.

Why do they do that anyway? Not the chirping thing, but the so early in the morning business?

I looked at my watch and saw that it was only 5:45am. What sane person gets up that early? Oh that’s right; I'm not sane so I may as well get up.
Once up and out of bed, I realise I had slept in my clothes from last night so I grabbed my uniform and tiptoed off to the bathroom. I tried to be as quiet as possible but I may as well not have tried as Demelza’s snoring was loud enough to deafen any noise I was going to make.

Hmm I wonder if all the boys would still fall all over her if they knew she snored like a grizzly bear… Ha, who am I kidding, of course they would, they're boys.

After washing my hair and getting dressed I used all the spare time I had trying to make my hair look nice. This is the first time I have ever tried to really make an effort with how I look because it seems that I am kinda, maybe, sorta, semi-friends with the Marauders. And as Remus is a Marauder… yeah yeah, shut up.

After a hopeless 30 minutes, I sighed in frustration and ended up just glaring at my hair in the mirror.

Why can’t I have hair like the other girls? They just seem to throw their hair up and it’s perfect. If I ‘just threw my hair up’ I would like a racoon had taken residence in there and was planning on a long stay.

Being a girl sucks. I bet boys don’t go through this whole ordeal of how they look. Well maybe Sirius does… but that’s Sirius. Remus looks like he can just get up and instantly be drool worthy.

Stupid boys.

I was just giving my hair one last go when Demelza and Alice wandered into the bathroom, looking bedraggled and yawning. Even when they have just woken up their hair looks nice!

As she has done for the past 6 years, Demelza just walked straight past me and went to the showers. Alice however lingered near the basins where I was standing.

I didn’t really know what to do. She was just standing there looking at me. So, feeling awkward, I attempted my hair again. I honestly don’t know why I bother, it just looks worse then it did when I started!

“Need some help?” Alice asked me with a tentative smile.

“Uh sure” I said smiling shyly back at her. What’s brought this on? Alice was never mean to me, but she had barely ever talked to me.

She stood beside me and picked up her wand. She started running it down my hair, straightening it perfectly.

I watched in awe as she finished the rest of my hair, managing to transform my raccoon hair into soft, shiny and amazingly straight silk.

“There you go. You have really nice hair by the way” she said giving me a proper friendly smile.

“Thank you so much!” I gushed while I turned my head in this and that direction to get a better look at my hair.

Alice laughed quietly before saying, “No problem. It’s the least I can do after… well you know”

I grinned at her and told her not to worry about it.

Hmm. She must have talked to Lily. I’ll have to remember to thank her. That is if she will ever talk to me again…

I thanked Alice again as she was going off to the showers and then went back out to our room where Lily was rummaging through her trunk looking for something.

“Erm, Lily?” I said carefully, worried she would turn around and maul me.

When she didn’t say anything I decided to keep going anyway.

“I’m really, really sorry about last night and I know how much your classes mean to you. So, if you want I don’t mind showing the first years to their classes. It would be my pleasure even!” I began to wonder if I was laying it on to think but then Lily turned around and gave me a big smile.

“You know, I'm not even that mad any more, but since you offered…” she trailed off grinning mischievously before laughing at the look on my face.

I couldn’t help laughing. She got me good.

“So everything is alright? I mean we’ve only been friends for like a day and I really like having you as a friend and I rea-” I had started to ramble but stopped when Lily laughed and held up her hand.

“We’re fine you crazy girl. I'm going for a shower. Are you going down to breakfast?” Lily asked while grabbing her clothes.

“Yeah I may as well, nothing better to do. I’ll see you down there?” I asked, grabbing my school bag.

“Sure” Lily said, walking with me towards the door. Just as I was about to go down the stairs into the common room, Lily said, “Your hair looks really nice” before disappearing off into the bathroom.

I couldn’t but help smile all the way down to the Great Hall. I wonder if anyone else will notice my hair?

I have GOT to get Alice to show me how she did that.

When I got to the Great Hall, there were only a handful of people there. There was only one lone Gryffindor sitting with his head resting on his arms.

Before I got onto the Hogwarts Express yesterday, I made myself a promise that I would be more social and what better chance than to practice now?

So I start to walk over to where the boy is sitting. Now that I’m closer, I realise that I know that sandy blond hair.

I stopped a little bit from the table and dithered around like a dithering twit.

What should I do? Why did it have to be him? Why couldn’t it have been some lonely third year or something?!

Get a hold of yourself! I told myself sternly. It’s only Remus… Oh God.

Before my brain can even begin to try and figure out what I should do, my mouth decides for me.

“Remus?” I hear myself asking softly.

Remus jumped like I had just shouted in his ear. Even when he’s startled he looks amazing.

I can’t help but laugh at his shocked expression. He looks like a startled goldfish. Can goldfish be startled? Hmm…

“Sorry” I say through my giggles.

Remus has his hand over his heart like he is trying to keep it trapped in his chest which only makes me laugh more.

“I’m alright… I think. You just about gave me a heart attack!” he said but he was grinning at me so that’s a good sign I guess.

Alright, this is good, excellent even! I haven’t passed out and I’m sitting across from Remus Lupin.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t realise you were having a little nap” I said while smiling. Good, smiling is good, well done brain!

“I wasn’t asleep, I was just… resting my ey-” Remus trailed off because he saw that I had raised one of my eyebrows.

“Okay, okay so I was asleep. But hey! If you knew what we got up to last night…” he said somewhat distantly, like he was remembering.

Okay, does that sentence sound wrong to anyone else? Yes? Right.

“Oh, God! I just realised how that would have sounded… and by the look of your face, you have to… greeeeat” Remus said suddenly once he had snapped out of his little reminisce.

“Hey,” I held up both my hands in a nonchalant way, “What you and the boys get up to in your spare time is noooone of my business” I said before laughing.

“I didn’t mean it like that! And you know it… right?” Remus said somewhat worriedly. Which, might I add, I found both adorable and hilarious.

I just nodded my head in that ‘riiiight’ kind of way before laughing.

Ohmygod. I am actually having a proper, okay so it's semi-weird but still proper conversation, with REMUS LUPIN.

Am I dead? God, did I die and now you're just being nice to me? Oh who cares, thank you anyway!

As I was laughing, I saw James sneaking up behind Remus and once he saw me, he signalled for me to keep distracting Remus.

“So, Remus, have you heard the joke about the Wizard and the ha-” I just started rambling while trying not to laugh and James’ ridiculous ninja like actions that he was doing.

Just as James was about to scare Remus, someone suddenly shrieked, “Guess who!” while covering my eyes.

I screamed my bloody head off. If there was a competition to see who could sound the most like a dying banshee, I would win, hands down.

I took comfort in the fact that Remus had also shouted out in fright, not quite in the dying banshee way but all the same, which made me feel slightly better.

While I was screaming my head off like a crazy person, my defensive instincts kicked in and barely thinking, I thrust my elbow back into my ‘attacker’.

Hey! I can see again!

I spun around in my chair completely ready to do what damage I could with my little knowledge of self defence, while also completely forgetting that I had a wand, only to find Sirius curled up on the ground cupping… well you get the picture.

It took me a moment to realise what I had done. I think it took everyone a moment and a half.

James and Remus had made their way over to our side of the table. James was absolutely beside himself with laughter. Remus didn’t look to far from it. I looked at them like they were mad.

Don’t they realise that I had just elbowed Sirius, THE Sirius in his manly parts?

Oh Merlin.

A/N:WELL THEN. Chapter 7. Was it long enough? I know the last one was short so I tried to make this one at least a bit longer than that one. (: Oooh. Shaylee had her first 'proper, okay so it's semi-weird but still proper conversation, with REMUS LUPIN.'

So. If you are a kind, loving, gen- okay, okay I'll stop. But if you do feel like leaving a review, please do. It makes me smile and dance slightly in my chair. ((: xx

“Now be careful when you go down this staircase. There is a trick… stair” I sigh as two of the little firsties, that I so stupidly agreed to chaperon to all of their classes, stepped right onto the trick stair that I was just warning them about.

Hmm… I wonder if Lily would be mad if I just left them there and ran away? I mean I’m already late for Muggle Studies…

“Alright then, come on you lot. Help me pull them out” I say - having decided that Lily would probably kill me if I just left them there – before grabbing one of the first years under the arm and attempted to pull them out.

“Gee. You’re really stuck in there aren’t you…” I mumbled to myself as I tried again to pull the girl out.

I nearly fell down the stairs when I heard some say, “Need some help?”

A Slytherin boy was standing three or four stairs down, towering over the group of first years that stood on varying stairs. They were all looking up at him opened mouth. I stood there gaping like an idiot myself, taking in his dark brown hair, green eyes and extremely fit, in more ways than one, body.

Can you say phwoar?!

His smile started to turn into ‘what-in-the-name-of-merlins-knickers-is-she-doing’ kind of look.

QUICK! Say something! Anything!

“She’s stuck!” I practically shouted at him. Oh yes. Reeeeeal smooth. He does have eyes you know!

Regardless of the fact that I was shouting obvious things at him, he smiled and walked up the few stairs so that we were standing so close that I could smell him. And let me tell you, he smells bloody good!

He smiled down at the trapped boy and girl before pulling them each out in turn.

Now why couldn’t I do that? Oh right. It might have something to do with the fact that I have no upper body strength what-so-ever. Dangit.

The two firsties scrambled down the stairs while the mystery boy jumped the trick step and walked up the staircase backwards, still looking at me smiling.

I stared back at him until he reached the top of the staircase and watched as he winked and then rounded the corner. I continued to stare at where he was before I heard giggling.

Blush instantly appearing, I turned around and glared at the first years. They all shut up. HAHAHA! I scare little kids! Oh wait… that’s not a good thing.

“Shaylee! You’re extremely late! This is so unlike you!” Said the Muggle Studies teacher, Professor Verona.

“I’m sorry Professor, I was showing some mun-, uhh, I mean first years to their classes” I said lamely, taking the time to fake glare at Lily who was innocently smiling at me.

“Well don’t let it happen again or I will be forced to take points. Now, you’ve missed out on picking partners but lucky for you Mr Pettigrew had an unfortunate accident and has been taken to the hospital wing. Your partner is… oh here he is now” he said while looking at the just opening door.

Oh. My. GOD!!!

“Ahh Mr Lupin, I trust Peter made it to the hospital wing alright?”

“Yes sir, Madam Pomfrey said he’ll have to spend the rest of the day there but he should be fine” Remus said before giving a body melting smile.

“Good, good. Now Remus, I trust you know Miss Sanchez? She is going to be your new partner”

Remus looked at me and smiled and I nearly melted into a puddle of mush right then in the middle of the Muggle Studies classroom.

As Remus walked to the two person desk next to James and Sirius’s table and took the seat, I mouthed a quick ‘Oh My GOD!’ to Lily who was giving me less than subtle thumbs up. I continued to stand in the middle of the room just gazing at the seat next to Remus. The seat so close to him that I would be able to touch him if I wanted…

“Miss Sanchez? Are you going to take your seat?” asked the Professor.

OH MERLIN! Will the embarrassment never end?

Blushing furiously, I went and took my seat next to Remus.

In the hopes of hiding my blush, I quickly pulled out my quill and parchment and tried to focus on the Professor who was now writing on the board.

“Okay class, for today’s lesson we will be looking at a nifty muggle invention, the toaster” Said the Professor, clapping his hands in excitement, looking around the class in the hopes of finding a student who had a somewhat enthused look on their face… he didn’t find one.

Not deterred by the lack of enthusiasm, he waved his wand and a blue box like thing appeared on the desk in front of me.

“Umm Remus, what’s a toaster?” I asked while poking the box.

Remus looked at me like I was joking… I’m not.

He seemed to catch on quickly and asked, “You don’t know what a toaster is?”

Oh God! Good job Shaylee! You’ve gone and made yourself look even more stupid. Quick! Say something to make it better!

“HAHAHAHA”, why did I think laughing like that would help? It’s only made Remus look slightly alarmed.

“Got you! Of course I know what a toastie is! Ha ha ha…” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I honestly don’t know what a toast-whatsit is… maybe he will just think I do?

“It… err… keeps your fingers warm?” I more asked than stated in the hopes that I could by some miracle be right.

Judging by Remus’ burst of laughter, I’m not right. Dangit.

I threw my hands up in the air, “Okay! I don’t know what a stupid toastie is! But I’m not the only one! Look! Sirius is just as toastie savvy as I am… which means he hasn’t the foggiest what it is either!”

“Hey!” Sirius having heard me, “I know exactly what a toaster is! It’s a little box that keeps your fingers warm!” he said with such smugness and confidence. Hey, maybe I was right!

… No I don’t think so. Remus has started laughing even harder.

“Okay then Toast Master! You tell us what it is then” I said while fake glaring at Remus.

Subsiding his chuckles, Remus was about to say something but stopped suddenly.

I was confused for a fraction of a second before I felt it. It only lasted a few seconds; it was as if a small current was spreading from the tips of my fingers to my toes before flowing into the ground.

Somewhat ‘shocked’, I looked around the room and noted the surprised looks of other people.

Haha! I’m not crazy!

“Bloody hell!” James suddenly shouted. I looked over to see him rubbing his arm and death glaring Sirius who was innocently looking away, whistling.

“A problem gentlemen?” The professor asked James and Sirius. James just continued to rub his arm glaring at Sirius while Sirius shook his head no and stifled a laugh.

Ohh! I get it! Sirius zapped James! Now why didn’t I think of that?

“Alright class settle down, settle down. Now what you just experienced was the classroom being fitted with the appropriate amount of electricity needed for the toasters to work. If I could please get one person from each pair to come up and get two slices of bread from my desk and the other person to pick out their preferred condiments, we’ll be able to get underway!” said Professor Verona, clapping his hands in excitement.

“Ohh! I know what a toastie does now! It makes toast! How cool!” I said while looking at the box with slight awe.

This caused Remus to laugh. Even though I’m making a fool of myself, I like making him laugh… I quickly restrain myself from giving a dreamy sigh.

“Didn’t you ever wonder where the toast came from when you ate it for breakfast?” Remus asked me, smiling amusedly.

“I… err… well I just assumed it came like that…” I say blushing, realising how stupid I sound. Shut up now and save yourself!

“I’m going to go get some bread before all the good pieces are gone!” I say before practically sprinting up to the front desk.

After carefully selecting the pieces of bread I return to my desk to see James, Remus and Sirius covered in jam, butter and honey.

Okaaaaaay…

“Oh James just to let you know, you have a little something… everywhere” I say smiling and sitting down. James just rolls his eyes. I know deep down he finds me hilarious.

“Okay now, each person put one piece of bread into the toaster and pull down the lever on the side and wait for it to cook” The professor said. He walked past the Marauders and just shook his head.

“HAHA! Of course I know that…” I trail off, before taking a deep breath and quickly dropping the bread into the toasty’s mouth, retracting my hand quickly.

AHA! I still have my hand!

Remus chuckles before putting his piece into the toastie, no problems. He grins mockingly at me.

“Show off” I mutter but secretly smiling.

As we were waiting for our toast, Remus went to help Sirius who was having some toastie problems. I took the time to let the thought of recent events since in.

I still can’t quite believe that I’m talking to the Marauders, let alone being kinda, sorta, maybe friends with them. In a matter of two days I went from having the giant squid as my bestie, to having the most popular boys in school and the girl that is liked by everyone as my friends.

At that thought, I started to have a mini panic attack. What if this is all just a cruel joke? What if they're all just pretending to be my friends and everyone is secretly laughing at me…? AHHHHH!

Wait. Wait. Wait. What if I’m wrong? What if by some complete miracle they actually do like me? I must not start accusing randomly or it will be back to giving Barry, the giant squid, half my lunch each day.

I was in the middle of taking some mental deep calming breaths when suddenly the two pieces of bread popped out of the, what I thought was innocent looking, toastie.

I was just sliding down in my seat, trying to hide my red face, when I suddenly heard the two girls next to us scream as their toast popped up. Ahhh I feel better.

---

“I am so full of toast” James said contently, patting his stomach.

“You can say that again” Remus said, brushing crumbs off his uniform. I had to sternly tell myself not to stare.

“I am so fu-” James had started to say but Sirius interrupted him by saying, “Don’t”

James just grinned wickedly before saying really quickly, “I AM SO FULL OF TOAST!” and then laughing like a loon.

“I don’t think I can make it to Herbology” I complained, feeling guilty about eating so much toast. “I may have to roll there”

“Roll where?” Lily asked me, having just joined us outside the Muggle Studies classroom.

“Herbology. I don’t suppose you would fancy carrying me there?” I asked hopefully.

“Err, no thanks” Lily said smiling mockingly.

“I wouldn’t mind carrying you somewhere” we all turned around at the sound of a boy’s voice.

Double phwoar and also phwoar times two.

The Slytherin boy from this morning was standing behind us with two of his Slytherin friends.

James, Sirius and Remus instantly moved protectively in front of Lily and I. I almost fainted at the thought of any boy being protective of me let alone these boys.

“Why don’t you clear off McKinnen” Sirius said, in that dismissive boy way.

“I wasn’t talking to you Black, I believe I was talking to her” the boy, or McKinnen as Sirius called him, looked past James’ and Remus’ shoulders to smirk at me.

My stomach did flip flops. He really is well fit.

Sirius was just about to say something but was stopped when Professor Verona stepped out of his classroom. He took one swift look at our little ‘gathering’ raised his eyebrows and looked pointed at the two groups of boys. McKinnen and his mates were the first move off. He brushed past Remus and as he passed Lily and I, he winked.

Whatever it is with this boy and winking, I sure do like it!

Lily and I stared open mouth at him as he and his two friends sauntered down the corridor and around the corner.

Once they were no longer in sight, Lily turned to me at exactly the same time I turned to her and we both said, “Oh My God! Who WAS that?!” and fell about giggling.

I have no idea why we’re giggling; it just seemed like the right thing to do.

Once we had recovered ourselves, I looked to see the three boys staring at us with bemused looks on their faces. This just made us laugh harder.

Somewhere in the middle of our second laughing fit, I heard James mutter, “Girls”. When we had recovered for the second time, we looked up to see that the Marauders had gone but we were not alone.

“Munchkins?” I asked in disbelief. How did they find me?!

Standing in front of Lily and I were the group of little firsties that I had to chaperon this morning.

Lily looked just as surprised as I did. That is before she smiled and quickly said, “Oh look at the time, I must dash or I’ll be late for Herbology” and before I could say anything, Lily had rounded the corner.

Muttering to myself, I turned back to the firsties and sighed. “Alright, what class?”

---

As the final bell rang, I sprinted from the Transfiguration classroom faster than you can say ‘there goes that crazy girl’.

I pulled out all the secret Auror moves just to make it to the Gryffindor common room without any of the munchkins finding me. I even took it as far as hiding behind walls and trying to blend in with a group of Hufflepuff’s who looked at me weirdly and threatened if I didn’t leave them alone they would curse me. I slowly backed away before high tailing it out of there. You never know what those Hufflepuff’s will do!

I don’t know how the munchkins can find me but can’t seem to find their own classes. I’ve been late to every class today and if I hear one more slightly higher than normal voice ask me, “Are really you friends with Sirius Black? What is James’ favourite colour? Is Remus’ favourite food really chocolate? Is Peter really afraid of flobberworms?” I may just have to stab myself.

They have only been at Hogwarts for two days and they already know just how popular the Marauders are! How ridiculous. Okay, okay so I may be just a liiiiitle bit jealous. Shut up, so is everyone else!

As I reached my room, I was just about buggered. I flopped onto my bed and tried to actually feel what it felt like to breathe again.

That is it. I must honour my promise I made to myself yesterday. I must start to exercise.

With a sudden burst of energy I got up off my bed and started looking through my trunk for appropriate exercise clothes.

What exactly are appropriate exercise clothes?

Having come to the conclusion that I don’t actually have exercise clothes, I improvised and put on a pair of shorts and a tank top. I was just about to walk out of the room when I realised I didn’t have any shoes on.

Hmm, that could be a problem.

I wonder if Lily would be terribly mad if I borrowed her shoes. I mean they look like something people would wear when exercising…

When I walked into the common room I saw James, Lily, Remus and Sirius surrounded by the little munchkins.

Remus and Sirius looked up when I was trying to tip toe past the group. I signalled to them to be quiet..

I made it quickly past without any of the firsties seeing me. Once out of the portrait hole I started making my way to the front doors.

I must have been imagining it… but were Sirius and Remus looking at my legs…?

Nahh, they couldn’t have!

Could they?

A/N:Thank you times a million and ten to every single person who has left me a reveiw. I read every single one and will reply to each one when I have the chance. If your feeling in the giving mood, why not leave me a review as a lovely surprise? Only if you want to that is. :) Thanks a bunch for reading! xx

If someone was to wander by, they would think that a tomato had grown legs and was now jogging around the Quiditch pitch like a fool.

Why did I decide to exercise? Obviously it is crap.

You know, I never realised just how huge the Quiditch pitch actually is. I’m only half way around and I’m already tomato girl. Not to mention the fact that I walked more than I actually jogged…

Maybe I could just have a little lay down on the grass and…

I had just turned around to find the best spot to have a little break and de-red my face, but when I did I bumped into something awfully solid but it also smelt really, really good.

It took me a moment to realise what, or who, it was.

“AHHHHHHHH!” I screamed before stumbling backwards so fast I ended up tripping over myself and landed roughly on the ground.

“Wow. You’re really red” McKinnen managed to say through his laughter. I really must find out his first name.

Oh my God. I am sitting on the ground with a possible broken bottom, a tomato for a head and idiot hair in front of the second best looking boy I’ve ever seen and haven’t made up.

Bloody fantastic.

What am I going to do?! I can’t just keep sitting here like a fool and a twit.

I got quickly to my feet in what I like to think was a graceful fashion. “I, err, HAHAHAHA… bye!” I started half stumbling half jogging away while mentally slapping myself for being such a weirdo.

“You know, you are quite easily the oddest girl I know” I nearly fell over from freight for I hadn’t even heard McKinnen jogging behind me and now he was jogging along side me, easily keeping up.

Stupid long legged…

Merlin, please tell me, for I will be the last to know, what a girl is meant to say to someone who just called you, ‘the oddest girl I know’? Because frankly I am at a lost. Well that and also the fact that I cant talk because my lungs have died and gone to exercising hell.

Oh nooooooo. I swear my head is going to explode from it being so gosh darn red. I must say something!

“*Huff* what are… *puff* you doing… *pant* out here?” Wow. I’m surprised I even managed to get out the first two words, let alone a sane question.

“I’m sorry, I missed that. What did you say?” McKinnen said with ease. Why is he not dying like I am?!

Oh God. He wants me to say it again! I barely managed the first time!

“*Huff, puff* Wha-”

Oh thank Merlin he’s interrupting me!

“I’m just kidding! I heard you. Please don’t try and talk again, I’m afraid you’ll die and I’ll have to drag you off into the woods” McKinnen said before cringing and laughing nervously.

AHA! Someone else who says things before instantly wishing that they hadn’t! I’m not the only one! I would totally dance right now if I knew that I wasn’t going to a) look like a complete twit, and b) die.

“Err… that sounded casually humorous in my head…” McKinnen said followed by an awkward smile and a nervous laugh.

I just gave him a dismissive wave, because that was all I could manage, and, what I hoped was, an attractive smile. That’s what I had hoped; I’m not saying that’s what it turned out to be.

We jogged on for another 40 seconds, the only sound being the tweeting of evening birds in the distant and the sound of our feet… oh and the sound of me dying, not so quietly.

“Uhh, I don’t mean to be rude but you sound like your dying. Maybe you should stop and have a rest?” I noticed that McKinnen was looking down at me with a slightly worried look on his face.

Oh my, I’ve just realised how tall he is…

Okay. That’s it! I have to stop.

I slowed to a stand-still with my hands on my head, gasping in air. As I said, exercising is obviously crap and painful. It can’t possibly be in any way healthy.

Having gathered some of my breath back I managed to say, “Uhhh is it normal to feel this dizzy?”

“Are you okay?” McKinnen asked rather worriedly, “Here, sit down” he hovered close to me, ready to catch me if I decided to go beyond the valley of embarrassment and faint.

Ahhh, this feels so much better. And hey, the ground has stopped spinning!

I watched in slight horror as McKinnen sat down opposite me, not to mention quite close, close enough that if I wanted I could have made our knees touch…

Not that I wanted to or anything of course…

Wait. A really good looking boy is sitting across from my almost exploding red head and my sweaty, messy hair. Greeeeeat.

My shorts started to feel too short and my top started to feel too tight as I began to feel more and more self conscious.

All the while I’m having a mini silent freak-out; McKinnen just sat there, leaning back on his palms with a casual smile.

Ohhhh he looks so nice all calmy, calm like. Why can’t I be like that!?

“You know, you are still sensationally red” McKinnen said with a playful smile.

Okaaaaaay… this is awkward. We’re just sitting here looking anywhere but each other.

I can’t take it anymore!

“Who are you?! And why are you so nice?” Oh god. I’m shouting at him again! If shouting obvious things at him wasn’t enough, now I’m demanding to know his identity. Merlin, for all I know, he could have a secret identity and here I am shouting at him to just tell me willy-nilly and… wait. Good grief, my brain has dropped out and gone on a holiday to loony city!

Thankfully, he just laughed and smiled before asking, “What do you mean? Would you rather I be horrible to you?”

“No! Err, I mean, no I just meant that you’re a Slytherin… and Slytherines tend to not like Gryffindor’s. At all. What so ever.” Gasp! What if this is all a trap and a group of man-like Slytherin girls are about to jump out and carry me off to their lair and…

Before he even had a chance to answer, I blurted out “This is a trap isn’t it!”

I had started to get up, fully ready to use my little knowledge of self-defence but McKinnen gently grabbed my wrist and pulled me back down while saying, “Whoa, whoa! What are you like? Of course this isn’t a trap!”

I ended up sitting back down but gave him my suspicious look.

“So what’s your name then?” I asked.

“My name is… ”

What? What! Don’t just leave me hanging! I need to know!

“Uhh…?” I said, hoping that would prompt him to finally tell me his name.

That’s when I realised McKinnen was looking past me. I turned around to see the whole Gryffindor quiditch team walking into the stadium, playfully pushing each other.

“I should go” McKinnen said standing up.

Nooooooo! I still don’t know who you are!

“What? Why?” I said scrambling to my feet.

McKinnen, who had been brushing grass off his uniform, stopped, looked at me like I was stupid and then realising I still wasn’t getting it, looked pointedly at his Slytherin uniform.

“Ohhhh” I said, feeling stupid for taking so long to realise that he was the only Slytherin in a stadium full of Gryffindor boys.

“Yeah, I don’t think your house would like it that much if I stole all their quiditch secrets… even though their all rubbish anyway” he said before giving me a smirk and a wink.

I was just about to say something to him when I heard the group of quiditch players laugh loudly at something.

Whoa! I had only turned away for one second to see what they were all doing and when I look back, McKinnen is gone!

Weeeeird… and annoying!

Slightly mumbling to myself about how crap it is to just disappear, I began jogging again, having finally stopped dying.

I am so glad that it isn’t that far to run until I reach the quiditch team. If it was, I would have definitely walked there. I am no letting tomato girl make another appearance!

Oddly enough, seeing as he isn’t on the team, Remus was the first to notice me. He smiled. I nearly fell over.

Oh god! Please Merlin; PLEASE do not let me go red again! As I got closer I slowed to a walk and tried to do a bit of sneaky idiot hair flattening.

As the others started to notice me I hoped I looked like I had planned; out for a casual, healthy, athletic jog. Not; Please help me, I’m dying on a death run.

As I reached the team, I focused on smiling, breathing and not saying anything stupid… near impossible for me.

“Hey Shaylee” James said smiling. Hmm, Lily must be crazy to not go out with that boy! Does she not see his smile?

“So this is where you ended up. We were wondering where you were going so dressed up” Sirius said with playful grin, looking at my ‘exercising outfit’.

I must say... phwoar.

I just laughed and smiled and nodded as if I was Miss Casual on casual street. What I was actually feeling was: Oh my god! What am I wearing?! What kind of stupid person ‘exercises’?! No one of course because it is so crap! I am such an idiot. Add in a bit of mental forehead slapping and you have my view on things.

I was just planning on saying something casual like, “So your starting practice early, it’s only the second day of school” and NOT “Remus you are the best thing since the toastie”, when we heard,

“Oh honey bunch!”

Good grief.

I turned to Sirius and said, “Oh honey bunch, your pookey bear wants you” and threw in a mocking smile.

Sirius looked slightly mortified, not to mention quite red. He glared at me, and anyone else who was laughing which was… err… everyone, before giving a small wave to the two girls sitting up in the stands.

“Right. Lets get on with it shall we?” James said, holding back his chuckles.

I wonder what Remus is going to do since he isn’t on the team. When I looked around for him, I saw him and Sirius just out of my hearing range. They seemed to be arguing about something.

I watched in amusement as they both got more riled up which meant an increase in head shaking and grumpy faces. In the end Remus gave a defeated sigh and Sirius thumped him on the back in that ‘thanks mate’ guy way. I’m still at a lost as to why they do that exactly. Getting the wind knocked out of you doesn’t seem like a very thankful thing to do to someone.

I pretended to look away and act interested in my nails as Sirius got on his broom to join the others near the goal posts while Remus walked back towards me.

I looked up in ‘surprise’ when Remus was close enough for me to have ‘just noticed’ him. Hmm, he doesn’t look that happy…

“You’re coming with me” Remus said before grabbing hold of my wrist and pulling me along behind him.

What? What??

“Uhh…okay” was all I said, trying not to die at the thought of him holding my wrist. It didn’t even occur to me that I should have probably asked him where we were going exactly. He could have been dragging me off to the Forbidden Forrest for all I knew or cared…

When he was sure that I was going to follow him, he let go of my wrist. I tried not to sigh sadly.

It took me until we were up in the stands to realise where were going.

“Oh no! Nooo way!” I said, stopping and putting my hands on my hips in what I hoped was a ‘and that’s final’ kind of stance.

He was dragging me off to sit with Sirius’ pookey bear and her friend!

Remus stopped and looked at me with pleading eyes.

I had to look away or I would have given in.

Uh-uh! No way, no how! It doesn’t matter what he says, I will not go and play friends with one of Sirius’ ‘girlfriends’.

“Please?”

“… Okay” Oh my god! I am so weak! But just look at that face…

Remus grinned at me and said, “I owe you one”

“Oh no. You owe me A LOT. Do you know who that is? That is Emma. She is CRAZY! Do you not remember her practically choking me yesterday when she thought I was Sirius?! I do not look like a boy I tell you!” I said in a frantic whisper as we were getting closer and I really didn’t want crazy Emma hearing me talking about just how crazy she is…

“I know, I know, trust me I don’t want to do this either but Sirius asked me and I did owe him after the giant squid incident…” Remus said, smiling down at me. What is it with all these boys being so darn tall?

“What about Barry?” I asked in slight worry.

“Barry?” Remus asked in confusion.

“Barry may be a giant squid but he is a good friend of mine and a great listener” I said without thinking how extremely odd that would sound.

“Yo-” Remus had started to say but was interrupted by,

“Remus!” Emma jumped up and hugged Remus, who was looking like he would rather have Barry hugging him rather than her.

Who hugs for that long, honestly!

Once she had finally let go, she turned and pulled her friend forward and introduced her as ‘Emily’.

Emma and Emily. Greeeeeat.

Emma and Emily were both chatting at the same time to Remus, who might I add, looked completely dazed.

As funny as this is, I should save him. I stepped up next to him and plastered a friendly smile on my face. Once Emma realised I was there she stopped talking and her nose scrunched up in distaste.

She turned her face to Remus and I noticed that she was back to smiling. She said in a sickly sweet voice, “Remus, who’s this?”

Good God, I fought back the urge to roll my eyes and also push her off the stadium grandstand.

Remus, having picked up on Emma’s unhappiness with me being there, pulled me gently by my elbow close to his side and said, “This is my good friend Shaylee”

Do not faint. Do not faint. Do not faint. I had to chant to myself.

“Oh” was all Emma said before sitting down, her friend Emily doing the same.

Remus grinned at me while pushing me toward the seat next to Emily. I shook my head furiously at him but he just kept grinning. Eventually I had to sit down.

I will get him back for this!

Emma and Emily were leaning towards each other whispering. One guess what their saying. I’m pretty sure I heard the words, “… she wearing?”

I was just about to tell Remus how much he owed me, when I felt Emma tap me on the shoulder.

“Umm, can you swap seats with Remus? I’m kinda trying to set him up with Emily” she whispered to me in a tone that suggested that I really didn’t have a choice if I wanted to move or not.

I was about to say, ‘Actually, I would rather submerge my head in a bucket full of dead flobberworms than help you set Remus up with Emily’, when I got better idea.

I’m getting us out of here.

I ignored Emma and turned to Remus and said, “Oh Remus! I just remembered! We were supposed to do that Muggle Studies homework, REMEMBER?” while I was saying the last bit I widened my eyes and hoped that Remus got the hint. He did.

“Oh! Right! We had better go do that now. Err, well, bye Emma, Emily” Remus said while quickly getting up and grabbing my wrist to pull me up. Together we shuffled off as fast as we could. At last! Freedom! I’m happy to be away from the ‘Em’s’.

When we were sure we were out of ear range, we both burst out laughing.

“Di- did you see her face?” I choked out through my giggles.

Remus nodded while grinning before saying, “Ahh, I owe you times two now! Thanks, I thought we were going to be stuck there until practice finished. Sirius only said I had to go sit with them, not that I actually had to stay”

I laughed and tried to make sure there was at least a semi attractive smile on my face before I said, “Oh that would have been horrid! Emma absolutely hates me!”

As Remus and I walked towards the castle, I tried to make sure I didn’t say anything too loony, which as it turned out, seemed to be quite hard for me.

We were just approaching the castle stairs when the doors opened and the entire Slytherin quidditch team came out and started down the stairs.

Remus, for the second time today, moved protectively close to me. Oh my god! That is so adorable!

… Oh shut up, I’m allowed to go all girly and stupid around him!

One of the beaters who was leading the team stopped when he reached Remus and I and looked at us with a half smirk half sneer.

Oh great. Way to ruin my Remus time! I will get you back for this!

“Well lookie here boys. A Marauder without his backup” he said while the others gathered around.

I was starting to get a little scared because there were a lot of them and only two us and I’ll be the first to tell you, it should be illegal to for me to even attempt to use my wand to protect myself… I just wave my wand around and hope for the best and in the worse case scenario I would probably just throw my wand at their head and run.

Hey! That doesn’t sound like that bad of plan… I wonder how my aim is?

“Yeah, yeah Reed, why don’t you just keep going” Remus told more than asked. I noticed that he already had his wand in his hand. I don’t remember that being there a second ago…

Reed scoffed before raising his eyebrow and saying, “What makes you think we would listen to anything you say?” as he was talking, he started to get closer to us while getting out his wand.

I instinctively moved closer to Remus. I realised I had gotten a little bit too close when our hands bumped against each other. I blushed and went to move away, even though I felt safer closer to him, but Remus grabbed my hand and pulled me gently towards him so that our sides were touching.

Oh. My. God. Remus Lupin is HOLDING my hand! My HAND. Not my wrist like last time, but my HAND. My knees started to feel a bit weak… NO! Do not faint!

I was saved from the horrific embarrassment that fainting would bring by ‘One name only McKinnen’ shouldering his way to the front.

He began to smile at me before I saw his eyes quickly glance down to my hand. His smile quickly turned into a glare but it wasn’t towards me. Ohhhh if looks could kill Remus would be deady-dead-dead. And also dead.

Oh great! Our one chance to get out of this has just turned into Mr Glare Man. Now what will we do? Surely I won’t have to resort to my ‘throw wand at head and run’ plan will I?

Just when I was getting ready to pull out my wand before throwing it, praying to Merlin that it hits someone other than myself, before making a wild dash for the castle, dragging Remus along with me, when I heard someone say “Oi!”, just from behind us.

I turned around and was beyond relieved to see the entire Gryffindor team stopping and fanning out along side us, almost like a solid wall of fit quidditch players… err, because that’s what they were.

I noticed that it was Sirius who was next to me. He gently put his hand on my arm before stepping slightly in front of me.

As nice as all this protectiveness is, do they all really think I can’t protect myself? I can throw a mean wand… and uhh, that’s it. Dang.

There was a long moment when all the guys did was glare at each other. At this rate we’ll make it to dinner… in a million years time.

I was thinking of saying something, you know, to just break the silence but then I came to my senses and said nothing.

I looked, or more so stared, at McKinnen, hoping he would look at me. When he finally did, I gave him my pleading eyes.

For a moment he just stared at me blank faced before he gave the tiniest sigh and turned to ‘Reed’. WHY everyone just talks to each other using their last names is beyond me.

I heard McKinnen say “C’mon” before roughly pushing past the guys on the end of the Gryffindor wall. The others followed, glaring at us all. Once they had gone I let a small sigh of relief.

“Well that was exciting… not” James said while grinning. How can he act like we had not just nearly been attacked by a group of angry Slytherin boys? Oh right, he’s a Marauder. He actually LIKES stirring up the Slytherines.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at James and said, “I can’t believe you just made a ‘not’ joke” before shoving him in the shoulder and laughing. James just stuck his tongue out at him.

While I was laughing at James and Sirius’ performance of immaturity, I was having a silent panic attack. I’m still holding Remus’ hand!

Oh God! What do I do now? If I don’t let it go he will think I like him, which I do but I don’t exactly want him knowing! But I don’t want to let it go…. Oh nooooooo.

“Right you lot, lets go get something to eat yeah?” James said before starting off towards the castle. Everyone began following him.

When Remus went to walk it seemed like he had only just remembered that he was holding my hand.

That’s not a very good sign…

I heard him say a small, “Oh”, before he slowly let go of my hand.

We both instantly blushed red, me somewhat brighter… okay a whole lot brighter! I can’t help it if I’m pale!

Remus did a nervous laugh while saying “Sorry about that”

I wanted to say, ‘Nooo! Don’t be sorry! Here! You can hold my hand for as long as you want! Or at least until it gets sweaty’ but then I remembered who I was talking to and how mortifying that would be… so I just blushed some more and said, “It’s okay don’t worry about it”

And with that final awkward note, we made our way into the Entrance Hall.

A/N: Hey you! Thank you soooo much for reading! :) I can't believe I'm almost up to 10,000 reads! Just by you reading even just this chapter makes me very, very happy. (((: The wait was long, but not as long as normal! So that has to count for something right?

Again, thank you to all of those who have read and to those who have reviewed me in the past. I'm dedicating time to answer every review I have so if you feel like leaving me one just to talk about the weather, feel free! [[:

I hate mornings. I am not a morning person. I am a leave-me-alone-until-at-least-eleven-o’clock-or-I-may-kill-you type of person.

Speaking of killing people, I almost killed Lily for waking me up. I was having the most wonderful dream… and no, it did not involve Remus being in my kitchen like last time. Oh God, I still can not believe that horrific train ride happened. We shall never speak of it again.

Anyway, this dream involved a certain someone, toast and hand holding. I really do think I ate too much toast because now I’m dreaming about it. Well I was, until Lily so rudely came and shook me awake yelling, “Wake up! You’re going to be late for muggle studies!”

I just rolled over and mumbled, “Who cares? Muggle studies is for…” before I started falling back asleep. That is when Lily pushed me out of my bed and onto the floor.

That is where I am now. I’ve been here for a good five minutes cursing Lily and thinking about how much I hate mornings.

“Shaylee! Get up! Don’t make me drag you to the bathroom” Lily warned as she stood at the end of my bed looking down at me on the floor. I sighed and grumbled but dragged myself up and shuffled off to the bathroom.

Oh god. What is going on with… all of me? What is the point of even leaving the dormitory? It is painfully obvious that I am very ugly and must remain in the bathroom forever. I wonder if I could talk Lily into bringing me food and homework everyday… Actually, forget the homework, the food will be fine. This is most definitely an ‘ugly day’ as I like to call days where I feel particularly gross.

Okay, so maybe staying in the bathroom forever is irrational and dramatic. Pfft, what do I care? I’m all about being irrational and dramatic!

Oh well. May as well TRY and make myself presentable. I tried splashing some water onto my face to wake myself up, and to make my usually green eyes less ‘murky lake water’ coloured.

Well I am never doing that again. All it did was go up my nose and hurt my eyes. My eyes are still murky green and I feel like I’ve nearly drowned. Stupid water.
Now what am I going to do with my hair? I was trying to drag a brush through my hair without getting it stuck in there forever, when Alice came in all smiles and way to happy for the morning.

“Good morn-… What are you doing?” Alice asked as she looked at me weirdly.

“Err… nothing?” I said, trying not to wince as I pulled too hard on a particularly difficult knot.

Alice smiled sympathetically as she looked into the next mirror and pinned her hair up perfectly. Humph. I could totally do that if I wanted… who am I kidding? I couldn’t do that to save myself!

“You know, all you have to do is ask and I would be happy to help you” Alice grinned over at me as she watched me struggle.

“Oh I don’t need any help!” I laughed casually and winced as the brush caught on another knot.

Alice just raised her eyebrows at me.

“Oh alright! I need your help!” I gave in and frowned while Alice laughed.

“Come here and stop trying to brush your hair, you won’t have any left in a minute!”

When Alice was finished with me I didn’t feel quite so ugly anymore. It’s amazing what a good hair day and a near drowning can do!

“Thank you, thank you, and thank you!” I said to Alice as I hugged her while trying to keep looking at my now curled hair in the mirror.

Alice laughed and offered, “No problem Shaylee. If you want I could teach you a few hairstyles tonight?”

“That would be great! Thanks again!” I grinned at her. That really would be great because I can’t have Alice doing my hair every morning. I shudder at the thought of me trying to do it on my own. We both went to get dressed and walked down to the common room together chatting and giggling.

Lily was sitting in the common room looking impatient. When she saw us she jumped up and said, “Finally! Even Peter was ready before you lot!”

Alice and I just rolled our eyes and gave Lily puppy dog faces. Lily continued to frown at us.

“How can you stay mad at those faces!” said a voice from the boy’s dormitory staircase. We all looked over and saw the Marauders sauntering down the stairs. Okay so when I say sauntering I really mean that only James and Sirius were. Of course they were. Peter was not so much sauntering but more trying not to trip over his own feet while Remus rummaged around in his bag for something.

My stomach did a stupid flip-flop thing at the sight of Remus looking particularly nice this morning. Calm down stomach! Gosh.

“Hey!” I said to Lily, “You said Peter was ready! He hasn’t even got his school bag!” I said while laughing. Peter looked shocked for a second before he groaned and hurried back up the stairs to get his bag.

The boys laughed as they came over to us and James tried to casually sling his arm around Lily’s shoulders. He promptly removed it when Lily gave him the glare of all glares. Everyone laughed at James’ slightly scared face while I patted him on the shoulder and said in a stage whisper, “Don’t mind her. She’s just grumpy because she thinks she is going to be late” and smiled encouragingly.

“Oh don’t even get me sta-” Lily began angrily before Sirius interruptedher by saying to me,

“Your hair looks different”

Oh lordy. I thought it looked nice! Great, just great.

Remus could obviously see that I was put out about my hair and he quickly said, “It’s a good different though! It looks nice curled” and he SMILED super NICELY at me, while Sirius nodded in agreement.

Oh Merlin, I think I love you. You have somehow made Remus and Sirius notice my hair and then compliment it! … Even if it was a lie, I don’t care!

I tried smiling thankfully back at them but it came out more of an ’I-am-feeling-ridiculously-shy-but-happy-right-now-so-stop-looking-at-me’ sort of way. Hey, I tried alright?

“Thanks,” I said shyly before I noticed Peter coming back down the stairs, this time with his school bag. I said in a much louder, distracting voice, “Oh look! Here’s Peter! Gosh, hurry up, you’re making Lily grumpy…er” Peter looked shocked for a moment before he realised that I was only joking and laughed weakly while hurrying over to us.

“Can we please just go now!” Lily more so demanded than asked.

“Yes Lily, your highness, we can” Said Sirius in a posh accent and made a show of bowing and showing the way to the portrait hole.

He elbowed James and Remus in the ribs until they did the same with Peter joining in. Lily rolled her eyes but I detected a hint of a smile on her face and she flounced past the boys. Alice giggled and practically skipped out of the portrait hole. Like the dense fool that I am, I stood in front of the Marauders with them looking at me expectedly.

“Er, you know Shaylee, this would be the opportune moment to pretend you’re a princess or something, you know, with us bowing and everything” Sirius smirked up at me from his bowed position.

“And you know, if you could hurry it up, that would be great because my back is hurting” James joked from beside Sirius.

In an act of be it stupidity or courage, I stuck my tongue out at all four boys before strutting past them, making it a point to swing my hips.

My gosh. I have started my morning looking semi alright, joking with the Marauders and possibly gaining Alice as a new friend. Ahhh, I love mornings.

Now let’s just hope that I actually did swing my hips and in fact did not look like a duck waddling past. Fingers crossed?

---

“Well we do seem to have a problem here don’t we” said Professor Verona to Remus, Peter and I in Muggle studies later that day as we stood awkwardly around the two person desk that Remus and I had shared yesterday.

Stupid Peter and not having to go to the hospital wing. Stupid Professor Verona and his ‘we have a problem here’. Stupid me for caring so much that I won’t be able to be Remus’ partner anymore… shut up, I’m allowed to care!

Here it comes. Professor Verona is going to tell me to go sit next to ‘Crazy Maisie’ and she is going to want to show me pictures of her cat and I’m going to have to smile and go, ‘Ohhh isn’t he cute… even with just his one eye…’ Great. Just bloody great.

“Remus you take your seat here and Shaylee can take a seat -”

“Next to Maisie, I know, I know” I cut off the Professor as I grumbled, more to myself than to anyone in particular.

“Err, well I was going to seat you next to Mr. Lupin but if you would rather partner with Miss Bunning…” Professor Verona offered.

“No!” I practically shrieked. Everyone looked at me, slightly alarmed. Maisie glared at me and I quickly looked away from her while saying, “Uh… what I mean is that Peter was telling me just this morning that he wanted to work with Maisie… weren’t you Peter?”

I stared hard at Peter while he looked from me to Maisie and back again. I smiled sweetly at him and gave him my best puppy dog eyes. With a final desperate look at the Professor who was beginning to look a bit impatient, Peter sighed heavily and slouched off to sit next to the lovely Maisie.

Well damn. Today is turning out way better than I expected!

As I sat down next to Remus, I could hear Sirius, James and Remus sniggering as they looked over at Peter.

Ohhh poor Peter. Maisie has already gotten out her first lot of photos. Peter turned to glare at us all and I mouthed ‘I’m sorry!’ but I don’t think he saw it because Maisie hit him to get his attention.

“Oh Merlin, the poor chap hasn’t got a chance!” Remus choked out through his laughter.

“Right class, settle down, settle down” Professor Verona said from his position at the front of the classroom. Remus and I glanced at each other and he grinned at me. My stomach fluttered crazily and I tried to remind myself not to grin like a loon at him. I tried to give him my most attractive yet, I’m-not-really-trying-to-smile-attractively smile that I could. I like to believe that’s what it looked like. That’s what I would like to believe, I’m not saying that’s how it looked. I think I managed okay, he didn’t go running off in disgust. That’s got to mean something right?

As we both turned towards the board to give our attention to the Professor, I caught Lily’s eye and she was grinning like a fool at me. I couldn’t help but grin back.

---

I love Muggle Studies. I think it may be my new favourite class.

“I hate Muggle Studies” grumbled Peter as we walked out of the classroom and into the busy corridor.

“Why Wormtail? What is there to complain about? You got to see some great pictures of Maisie’s cat! People would pay for that and you got it for free!” joked James as he grinned at Peter who was glaring at us all as we laughed and started walking to our next class.

“This is all your fault! I did not want to sit next to her!” Peter said angrily to me over his shoulder as he shoved James away from him into a startled group of second years who just about died from having James crash into them.

I wanted to answer but couldn’t. Bloody hell! This is just like the other day in the entrance hall! How do I always end up getting stuck in the crowd? Yeah, sure, everybody get out of the way for the Marauders and just forget me. Great.

Oh thank God! Sirius is coming back to save me. Again. You know, he isn’t nearly as horrible as all the girls make him out to be. But then again, I haven’t dated and gotten dumped by him. James, Remus, Peter and Lily all slowed down as they realised that I was about a million miles away from them.

“Geez Pete, quit glaring at her. You’re going to give yourself wrinkles.” Sirius laughed as he slung his arm around my shoulders. “Shaylee was only trying to help Maisie out. She told you she liked Peter didn’t she?” Sirius asked and winked at me as if to say, ‘just go along with it’.

“Oh yeah, totally” I said while trying not to laugh. I am the worse liar ever.

Peter looked at me for a moment before asking,”Really?”

“Yeah! ‘Course she did Peter. She likes your… uh… hair? Yeah! Your hair,” I smiled as convincingly as I could at Peter who seemed to believe me.

Sirius grinned down at me as we all made our way to the Potions classroom. I instantly got glares from just about all of the girls who where already in the classroom. I smirked at them before quickly ducking out from Sirius’ arm. He looked at me, confused.

“Hey, I’m just protecting myself,” I joked in way of explanation to Sirius, “from your crazy fan club!”

Sirius looked over at the girls, who instantly pasted sappy smiles onto their faces and started flicking their hair madly. He grinned and winked at them. All of them just about fell over. I hit him playfully on the arm and said, “Bad Sirius! Stop making the girls hyperventilate!”

I heard someone laugh behind me. I turned around slowly, knowing that laugh anywhere. Oh my gosh and holy moly! Remus stood there smiling down amusedly at me while I blushed bright red.

Quick! Think of something to say you idiot brain! But all I could think of was the fact that Remus was laughing at something I said. And not in the ‘You said something stupid, shut up now” kind of laugh. It was a nice, friend-… I’ll shut up now.

I was saved from saying something ridiculous, (thank you Merlin!), by Professor Slughorn entering the classroom loudly and asking everyone to take their seats.

I smiled nicely (maybe) at Remus before going to sit beside Lily who had saved me a seat. Remus sat down in front of us in the seat that Peter had made sure to reserve for Remus and Remus only. Lily and I looked at each other, having both picked it up, and giggled.

“What’s so funny eh?” came James’ voice from behind us. We both turned around in time to see Professor Slughorn lightly hit James on the back of the head with his parchment for talking. Lily and I struggled to control our giggles as we looked at James’ shocked expression and Sirius’ mad grin.

---

Well this sure is a boring lesson. We’re halfway through a double potions lesson and I have run out of parchment to doodle on. Sure, sure I could (should) be taking notes… but what idiot does that?

Just when I was going to sneakily steal some of Lily’s parchment, which she was scribbling notes on, a piece of folded parchment landed in front of me.

Huh. How super weird. I slowly unfolded the paper and was surprised to see two different sets of handwriting on the parchment.

Shaylee!

James and I are bored… our only form of entertainment has been watching you draw pictures on your parchment. We both have agreed that the one of the rabbit dancing with the dog in the best!

The handwriting changed to a slightly messier version of the first.

We did not both agree! I, personally, think that the dragon sitting on someone is the best, (we did both agree that the person is Serverus Snape).

Sirius’ hand writing returned.

ANYWAY, before I was so rudely interrupted… wait, what was I talking about again? Oh right, NOTHING! Because nothing is happening and we are bored. We have both voted and decided that you should pull a prank.

Sirius’ handwriting appeared, along with some smudges and scratch marks, that could only have come from a fight over the quill.

What James was taking a million years to say is we have decided that you need to pull a prank in order to be friend’s with us! Well, you don’t really. But it would make everyone less bored so really it would be a tribute to society and… okay, you get the point.

Write back with your thoughts! And say hi to Lily for James before he explodes.

- James and Sirius… and Remus and Peter even though they had nothing to do with this note.

I stared in shock at the note for a moment, taking in the fact that James and Sirius had written me a note. A stupid grin spread over my face at the thought of what all the girls would think if they knew I had received a note from one half of the Marauders.

Hahaha! Take that girls! I’m not such a loser after all! Let’s just pretend that all the girls could hear my inner gloating, alright?

My stupid grin and gloating, (even if it was only to myself in my head), was short lived however when I realised what they had actually said.

Me pull a prank? Me? ME?!

Panic settled into my stomach and I turned around to look at James and Sirius who were grinning at me. I shook my head ‘no’ with a look of ‘have-you-both-gone-absolutely-completely-and-totally-mad?!’ on my face. The idiots continued to grin while nodding their heads.

I heard someone clear their throat and turned around to realise that Professor Slughorn had stopped the lesson and was looking at me with a slightly amused look on his face. I mutter an apology and sunk down in my seat.

Remus and Peter, and just about everyone in the entire class were looking at James, Sirius and I. There was a small smile playing on Remus’ lips before he turned back around as the Professor restarted his lesson, having successfully embarrassed me into being quiet.

Control yourself Shaylee! All Remus did was give you a small smile! That was not an invitation to leap over the desk and snog him!

Pushing all thoughts of snogging Remus out of my head, (which is a struggle, let me tell you), I scribbled a hurried note to James and Sirius saying,

Boys! I’m far too lazy to write both James and Sirius… well I just did, but shh.

What are you two thinking?! Me pulling a prank? We all know that that is not a good idea. The only outcome would be either, a: me hurting myself, b: me hurting someone else, or the most likely, c: me hurting myself and others also proving how incredibly crap I am at pranks… and life.

So, thank you very much for your offer (even if it wasn’t so much an offer than a demand/blackmail of friendship), I am going to have to say NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS! I am only thinking of the safety of all Hogwarts students.

- Shaylee. (Just so you both know, I felt incredibly stupid for signing my name because obviously it is from me… or is it! … er, well it is. Shut up!)

PS: Lily says hi!

PPS: Okay, I lied! She didn’t say hi.

PPPS: You got me! I didn’t actually tell her James said hi. I am afraid she would murder me with her quill for interrupting her note taking.

PPPPS: Why don’t you say hi to her yourself James, you big goose. She would appreciate it a lot more, I’m sure.

- Still from me.

I subtly used my wand to levitate the note behind me and onto the boy’s desk. I heard the sounds of the parchment being unfolded and the whispered fight over who would read it first. I then heard the scoff of one of them, followed by James saying in an indignant whisper, “I am not a big goose!”

I just smiled which turned into a grin as I heard the bell indicating the end of the lesson and that it was now lunch time.

---

Wow, those boys sure are persistent! I have spent the rest of the day sitting with Lily and Alice in class with notes zooming at me from all directions. James and Sirius just don’t give up. And they recruited Remus and Peter into helping them!

One good thing has come out of this though. Remus sent me notes as well! Okay, okay, the notes said exactly the same thing that the other Marauder’s did, (telling me I HAD to do a prank or they would prank me), but still! It was signed from him. I nearly died when I opened it in Charms and realised he had sent it.

I turned a brilliantly embarrassing red and nearly giggled out loud at the shock of it. I chanced a glance at him and Sirius as they were sitting together. Sirius grinned at me while Remus smiled and mouthed ‘sorry’.

I swear that boy will be the death of me. I had to remind myself to keep breathing and not topple out of my seat in shock.

Once classes finished for the day, Lily, Alice and I, talking and laughing about the day, (yeah I can’t believe it either), walked to our dormitory so that we could drop off our bags and that is where we are now, lounging on our beds before we headed down to dinner.

Not that I would ever in a hundred zillion years tell anyone… but I have tucked the two (yes, TWO) notes that Remus sent me under my pillow for safe keeping and later obsessing over. Don’t judge me!

“Hey, what was that?” Alice asked while sitting crossed legged on her bed, looking at my pillows.

“Uhh…” Oh thank you Merlin! I was saved from making up a lie that would no doubt not convince anyone, even myself, because at that moment Demelza dramatically entered the room.

As I’m sure she intended, everyone’s attention went to her as she flounced into the room and made her way straight to the end of my bed.

“You!” she shouted and pointed an accusing finger at me, a tad dramatically in you ask me.

“Me?” I asked, utterly confused.

“Yes you!” she said, glaring.

“Er… hello?” was the best I could think of to say.

“Don’t you ‘hello’ me! I know what you’re up to!” she shouted, putting her hands on her hips angrily.

For a crazy second I thought she meant hiding Remus’ notes, but then realised there was no way she could know that, so I just looked at her confused.

“Oh don’t try and look innocent! I know you have been writing love notes to MY Sirius all day!”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “What?” I said with laughter in my voice.

“Oh don’t play dumb. The Marauders are waiting downstairs to talk to you which just proves you have been sending them all love notes! Well, Sirius is mine and if I catch you even looking at him…” she trailed off while glaring furiously at me before she slammed the bathroom door.

What? WHAT?!

Did she say that they want me to go see them? So I didn’t just dream this whole day. Am I actually friends with the Marauders? It can’t possibly be… can it?

I looked confusedly at the closed bathroom door before looking at Lily and asked, “Should I be scared? You don’t think she would, like, kill me in my sleep or anything… right? Right?” Lily just shrugged and went back to looking for her shoes.

Alice however jumped off her bed and said happily, “Well we may as well go to dinner and you can see them on our way… but make sure you don’t even glance in Sirius’ direction. You might get killed!” she laughed while heading for the door.

When she realised that Lily was still looking for her shoe, her head so far into her trunk she was in danger of falling into it and never being seen again, and that I was still sitting on my bed in shock, she sighed dramatically and came and dragged me off my bed before hauling Lily out of her trunk and pushing us out the door.

“When did you get so pushy Alice?” Lily grumbled under her breath while we made our way down into the common room.

I nearly died when I saw that it was only Remus waiting there. Is he waiting for me? Was Demelza just playing a horrible joke? Oh Merlin, help!

Alice pouted at the sight of just Remus and said, “Aww I wanted to see if you instantly turned into dust for even just looking at Sirius” and sighed loudly.

Before I could make my mind up about storming back to the dormitory and cutting off Demelza’s precious hair for trying to set me up, Remus turned at the sound of our arrival and smiled at us.

Oh God, what am I supposed to do?!

I was saved from doing anything stupid by Lily saying, “We heard you wanted to talk to Shaylee?”

Oh Lily! If it wouldn’t look totally suss and I knew that James wouldn’t kill me, I could have kissed you… Or at least given you a friendly hug!

“Yeah, I did if that’s okay?” Remus asked, looking at me.

Ohmygod! Remus wants to talk to me! Alright, calm down, calm down. I have to stop reacting like this every time he moves around me. Oh but it’s so damn hard not to!

Trying to plaster a cool smile on my face, I said, “Oh sure, no problem” Way to go brain! You never cease to amaze me!

“We’ll save you a seat Shaylee” Lily said, dragging Alice off out of the portrait hole but not before she gave me a knowing look and a grin.

Okay, brain. We can do this. This is not the time to have a meltdown alright?

“Oh were you on your way to dinner?” Remus asked and I nodded. Alright, good, nodding is good. “I guess I can try and corrupt you on our way then” he said and grinned down at me and led the way to the portrait hole.

I laughed disbelievingly. What the… corrupt me?

“Oh God, I just realised how that sounded” Remus groaned in slight embarrassment as we made our way along the corridor.

I smiled at him and said, “Don’t worry about it. I know you’re just a weirdy” I teased him and lightly nudged him. Ohmygod! Did I just do that?! That was actually kind of friendly yet flirty, right? YESSSS! Brain we are on a roll!

He looked down at me and pretended to be appalled. “What did you just say?”

“Ohhh, I don’t know. Just that you’re a weirdy” I shrugged, as if it was no big deal.

“Well if I’m a weirdy then you’re ---” he began, but I didn’t get to hear what I was for I was suddenly covered in honey and dosed in feathers.

Fan-bloody-tastic.

A/N: It's a miracle! I haven't died! I understand that you all may have thought that due to my extreme absence. I can't believe how long it has been! So much has happened since I last posted. And let me just say, I am soooo sorry. Please feel free to send me very strongly written letters in the post with lots of angry faces on them... which I will never read but get the point non-the-less. :P

Anyway, I am back and (hopefully) better than before! This is my longest chapter yet! Time for the long chapter dance? No? Oh, alright. I'm going to try and get the next chapter written really super soon.

I would love you (in a totally non-weird way) for a million years if you left me a review. Even if it's only to tell me what your favvy fav season is. I'm deffo pro winter. :) Thanks for reading! xx

I officially hate the Marauders. With a passion. With a passion so deep that Merlin's hair would curl at just the thought. That is if he doesn't already use hot curlers... Wait, what?

Oh yeah!

I am covered, absolutely bloody covered in honey and feathers! I look like a ridiculous girl covered in honey and feathers... that is because I, er, am. Dammit!

Here I am, finally having what I think is my first kind of friendly yet flirty conversation with Remus Lupin, the greatest thing since the toastie, and I am dosed in bloody honey and feathers! No word's can explain how I feel right now.

I lied. There are words. Many. Very angry ones. Some funny ones. But mostly angry.

I turned to yell my new found words at the Marauders only to find all of them on the ground in fits of hysterical laughter.

"Yo- you look like a- a giant bird!" James managed to choke out from his position on the floor.

"You should have se- seen your face!" Sirius managed, who was now clinging to Remus' shoulder for support.

Oh god. Remus.

If he says anything I will without a doubt die. Most likely spontaneously combust. Or perhaps from catching fire. It certainly felt like a possibility if how hot and red my embarrassed face feels is any indication. Though I rather hope not. Sounds painful.

Wait, what the hell am I thinking?! Get out of here you idiot!

The boy's were too busy laughing their selves silly, so I took the opportunity to very gracefully and in a dignified manner turn and storm off with a magnificent sweep of my robes.

Well, obviously that didn't happen! Honestly, shame on you for thinking that I could manage anything even remotely like that!

What really happened is I stood there for a few more seconds just blinking at the boy's laughing on the ground before I very awkwardly and in an extremely ungraceful manner, attempted to run away, which turned out to be more of a shuffle due to the honey that had dripped onto the floor, making it very sticky and difficult to make an escape.

I had managed to make it around the corner before I heard Peter say loudly over his friend’s laughter, "Hey, where did she go?"

The Marauders laughing abruptly stopped and I heard the shuffling of robes which I assumed was the other boy's finally getting up.

Oh bugger! Hurry Shaylee! Shuffle shuffle shuffle! Damn this honey! Damn it to hell! And damn the Marauders! And the Hufflepuffs! And th-

I was cut off from my thoughts of damnation by Remus saying, "She must have went this way."

Oh noooo! I need to hide!

Panicking at the thought of having to have to endure more laughing, I flung open the door to a random, hopefully empty classroom and hurried inside. Looking around wildly, I spotted a supply cupboard off to the left side of the room. For lack of a better plan, I shuffled as fast as my honey covered shoes would take me and climbed inside the cupboard.

Great. Just great. Not only am I covered in honey and feathers but I am now hiding in a cupboard. And to make matters worse, the honey is very uncomfortably sliding down my back and legs, creating a sticky mess at the bottom of the cupboard. Great.

Well at least the Marauders haven’t found me! I am very obviously fantastic at hiding! This is a good thing I suppose seeing as how I can never show my face again!

I just can’t believe they pranked me! I mean they said they were going too but I didn’t think they would do it!

Is this the reason they have been nice to me? Has it all been leading up to this prank?

I knew it! I knew it and I was all like ‘Nahhh they aren’t that mean as to just befriend people to make fools of them!’

I am a bloody idiot. I am so silly; they should just put me in Hufflepuff! I should not even be allowed to be at Hogwarts because if I had brains I would have wised up to their little scheme.

“Hey you guys! Here, look!” came James’ voice from what sounded like just outside the classroom, interrupting my self-demoralisation.

They have opened the door to the classroom!

I listened to their footsteps as they all entered the room and heard Sirius call, “Shaylee?”

Oh Godric! They have found me! I am done for! But how did they know?!

As if I had shouted the question, Sirius said from much closer to my hiding place, “Shaylee, we know you are in here. We saw your honey footprints” there was laughter in his voice.

Crap. Stupid honey!

Ohhh I wish I could see what was going on outside this stupid cupboard. All I can hear is them muttering to each other... No, wait. They have gone silent. This cannot be go-

“ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” I screamed in surprise as the cupboard doors were flung open by James and Sirius.

“ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” they shouted back at me in shock.

We all stopped screaming at the same time and just stared at each other for a few seconds before Remus’ and Peter’s uncontrollable laughter punctured our shocked states.

Oh great. Just bloody freaking great! James and Sirius have now both started up laughing again. Well that is it!

I pulled out my wand, which was hard as the honey had made my robe pockets stick together, before stepping out of the cupboard and pointing my wand at the four boys with a look on my face that said, ‘If-you-don’t-stop-bloody-laughing-you-twits-I-am-going-to-curse-you-into-next-year!’

Well, I at least hoped it looked like that.

Remus noticed me with my wand first and cleared his throat before he nudged James who then, noticing me, nudged both Peter and Sirius.

Sirius, who had stopped laughing but still had an arrogant grin on his face, said, “Aw come on Shaylee, don’t be like that! We were only having fun and we did warn you that we would prank you! That is more than we give our other victims!”

“Your other victims?!” I shouted in indignation. “I thought I was your friend! Not just another bloody victim!” as I was shouting I took a step closer to the boys, who’s faces no longer held signs of grins, but more of nervous smiles.

“Shaylee, we didn’t mean to upset you...” Remus said in a soft voice. I turned to look at him.

Oh Merlin, all is forgiven! How can I stay mad at that face!

Wait, no! He was in on this too! He was the one who distracted me so that the others could prank me.

That’s it, isn’t it? Why this hurts so much and why I’m so embarrassed, because Remus was part of it.

I looked from Remus to the others and then I did something that I had never thought I would do in a hundred million years. I narrowed my eyes angrily at Remus. He looked slightly taken aback and went to say something else before I cut in.

“It’s just all a big joke to you guys isn’t it? Befriend the shy quiet girl, make her think she finally has friends all just so you could humiliate her and get a good laugh. Well guess what! You did! You must be so proud of yourselves. Now I guess that it’s over, you can all go back to ignoring me. I liked it better that way!” I was shouting loudly and I was sure I had my crazy eyes going on. Not a very attractive look but what did I care? Barry the giant squid never worried what I looked like, so long as I brought him food. Barry really is my only friend.

“And to think I was going to introduce you lot to Barry!” I shrieked at the four shocked boys before I finally lost it.

“Sockticulus!”

“Wha-“ Peter started before he keeled over laughing uncontrollably. Next to go was Sirius and then Remus before; finally James too was on the ground laughing with a pained look on his face.

“Since you guys like laughing so much, I thought I would give you all a hand.” I said before I stomped off back to the common room, leaving the Marauders and a trail of sticky footprints behind, completely forgetting about dinner.

***

Thank god and Merlin and all that is awesome that everyone has gone to dinner. I don’t know how I would have reacted if I had come back looking like a giant chicken to a common room full of people.

Actually I do know. I would probably go off my rocker at them and quite possibly scar a first year for life. Lucky it didn’t come to that I guess.

As I passed one of the tables by the fire, which happens to be the Marauders favourite spot to sit, I saw that someone had left their book on the table.

Shuffling over to it I hoped that it was one of the Marauders and was in luck when I opened to cover to find Property of Remus Lupin scrawled in loopy handwriting on the inside page. I grabbed the book with a maniacal smile and hurried off to my dorm.

Once inside, I hid the book under my bed with a feeling of triumph.

AHA! That will show him! Let’s see him try and do his Charms homework now! HAHA! I am obviously an evil master mind.

Feeling slightly better and also a little bit evil, I went to the bathroom and nearly died of fright.

Holy biscuits! I really do look like a giant chicken! How am I ever going to get all of this off me?! I will have to go off and start my life as the giant chicken girl on some bloke’s chicken farm and will have to spend the rest of my life eating corn! I don’t even like corn! In fact, I hate it!

My worrying about being giant chicken girl and eating corn for the rest of forever carried on through me peeling off my sticky clothes and getting into the shower. I was reaching a state of panic when the honey was not coming off but soon began to calm down when slowly, but surely it started to wash off.

Once I was sure all of the honey and feathers were off I began the task that was my hair. It seemed this is where most of the honey had ended up.

Oh god, how am I going to get this out?!

The answer is I wasn’t.

It would just not come out. No matter how much shampoo I used or how hard I scrubbed, it would not come out.

After half an hour of being in the shower and trying to get the honey from my hair, all I had managed was to make it slide down from the crown of my head to ends of my waist length hair where it decided it would like to live permanently.

Awesome.

As I was again in panic mode I heard the dorm room bang shut and hoping to Merlin that it was Lily and not Demelza, called out, “Lily?! Is that you?! If it is you, please you have to come help me! If it is Demelza, then er, don’t come here, alright?” I shouted, hoping that whoever was out there could hear me.

“Shaylee? Is that you?” Lily called from the door.

Oh thank goodness! Finally something has gone my way!

I quickly turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around myself before letting Lily into the bathroom.

“What’s wrong?” Lily asked before spotting the ends of my hair which were now a lumpy mess. “What did you do to your hair?” she asked in surprised while poking the mess of hair and honey.

Oh fabulous. Now I’m going to cry and in front of Lily and everything. Next I will do something really crazy like not finishing my potions essay.

“Oh Shaylee, please don’t cry! What happened? What did they do?” Lily asked frantically while I wiped my eyes feeling stupid and told her what had happened and how they had all just pretended to be my friend.

“THEY WHAT?!” Lily shouted angrily once I had finished the story and she began pacing the room angrily.

“And now I can’t get all of these feathers and honey out of my hair. I don’t want to be the chicken girl Lily!” I wailed.

“Calm down, it’s okay we will get it out. Just let me have a look,” Lily said in a reassuring voice. Then she had a close look at my hair before finally saying, “Well if you had just used magic to get it out it wouldn’t be so tangled...” Lily murmed more to herself than me.

“Yeah well I was a bit busy with freaking out to think rationally!” I muttered, knowing Lily had heard me but she chose not to say anything.

After a few more minutes of Lily pulling painfully at my hair she finally said, “Well I can try and use magic to get it out for you... though if I can’t I think the only other option is to cut off the ends...” Lily finished gently.

“What?! You will have to what?! I don’t want to be bald! I mean I know some people can pull off the look, but I’m pretty sure I have a weird shaped head and I do not want to be known as the weird head shaped chicken girl!” I shouted, having completely lost my head.

“You won’t be bald! I promise!” Lily had grabbed me by my shoulders and shook me while shouting “So just CALM DOWN!”

After what felt like ten years Lily finally gave up trying to charm the feathers and honey out of my hair. That only left one option.

Death.

Wait, no that’s not right. Ahhh yes, cutting my hair. May as well be death, I thought sulkily.

“Alright Shaylee, I think the only option is to cut it,” Lily said hesitantly, scared of my reaction.

Taking deep calming breathes I managed to say through clenched teeth, “Okay. Do it. Let’s get this over with so I can go curse those Marauders” I practically growled the last word. Wow, I even surprise myself sometimes!

“Actually, I really think I should go get Alice. She’s really good with hair spells and cutting it and what not,” Lily said before walking to the dormitory door. I could have sworn I heard her mutter to herself as she went down the stairs, “Plus if she screws it up you will hurt her and not me”

Once Lily had left I gave one last feeble attempt at trying to untangle my hair before I gave up and decided it would probably be a good idea to put some clothes on. Having changed into jeans and a shirt, a few minutes later Lily and Alice made their way into the room with a worried look on their faces.

“Oh my god Shaylee, I cannot believe what happened! Lily told me what happened, those jerks! Oh your poor hair!” Alice said while making her way over to me to examine my hair. “Mmm Unfortunately I think the only thing for it is to cut it,” as Alice saw my face she added hastily, “but don’t worry! It will look even more amazing! And then I will teach you some hairstyles and stuff, yeah?”

I just nodded and let Alice get to work trying not to think of my life as the bald chicken girl.

***

I think I love Alice. In a totally non weird way of course, but none the less, she is bloody amazing with hair!

The honey and feathers, along with the hair they were tangled in, were now gone and my once waist length dark brown hair was cut to fall just above the middle of my back. Alice hadn’t needed to cut off as much hair as I had feared and once she started I don’t think she wanted to stop.

So, trusting her, I gave her free reign to do whatever she thought would look best and she bloody well pulled it off!

Not only had she cut out the tangled mess, but she had also used her wand to cut in layers giving my once limp hair texture and volume. She had also gone as far as putting what she told me were blond ‘foils’ and ‘highlights’... whatever they were.

Like I have stated many a times, I suck at hair. But I now know that foils and highlights are amazing!

The blond really stood out in my dark hair and to complete the look Alice trimmed my blunt fringe, which had been getting a bit long.

“Well, what do you think guys?” asked Alice with an anxious look on her face as I examined my new look in the mirror.

“Shaylee! You look amazing!” gasped Lily as she looked up from the book she had been reading while Alice had worked her magic. “Great job Alice” she added which made Alice smile in relief.

“Alice... I don’t even know what to say... YOU ARE AMAZING!” I squealed before jumping up and hugging Alice as tightly as I could. “Thank you so much!”

Alice laughed as I released her and said, “Well I’m just glad you like it. It really suits you, you know. The blond and brown, it brings out your eyes”

Blushing at the compliments I muttered a ‘thanks’ while still looking at my hair in the mirror.

“Right,” Lily said in an authoritative voice she used when she meant business. Alice and I turned to look at her, “now that we have fixed your hair problem, I think we need to discuss exactly what happened and then start on our plan for payback”

What? WHAT? Is this Lily talking? Had a slytherin taken control of her body?

“Lily, are you in there? Is that you? Because you do not make plans for revenge” I said with a laugh, though still eying her warily.

Lily just grinned a mysterious smile and said, “Don’t I? Now, tell us what happened, and don’t skip anything”

So I told them everything that had happened from the notes about pranking to the moment I left with Remus, I cringed slightly at saying his name. Just knowing that he was involved somehow made me twinge with embarrassment and sadness. Lily and Alice stood there ‘hmm-ing’ and ‘ahh-ing’ at appropriate times. I finished by telling them my conclusion of them just pretending to be friends and what not. At this they both frowned.

“You know Shaylee,” Lily said slowly, looking to Alice who nodded, “I think you have the last bit wrong. I mean, I know they can be stupid gits, but they are never intentionally mean to people who don’t actually deserve it. And you most certainly do not deserve it.”

“If anything, I think this has been a bit of a miscommunication” said Alice thoughtfully.

A miscommunication? Are they actually saying that the Marauders really are my friends? Well that is just ridiculous. I mean, they covered me in honey and feathers for Merlin’s sake!

Hmm... Though I guess I would have done the same to one of them if given the chance... and they had warned me that if I didn’t prank them they would get me.

“So you don’t think they were being intentionally mean?” I asked in a quiet voice, still thinking everything through.

Lily shook her head, “No I don’t. Look, why don’t you go and talk to them? Maybe they can explain themselves. But first, we have some planning to do!” The mysterious smile was back.

Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?

***

Alright Shaylee you can do this. It was all a misunderstanding. Just ask them and everything will be cleared up and then I can snog Remus senseless!

Er, well maybe not that last part, but not from lack of wanting to.

Pushing thoughts of snogging out of my head, I entered the quite full common room and looked around for the Marauders. After doing a quick search I concluded that they were not here.

“Well they aren’t here, what a shame. I guess we will have to this another time... like never” I said to Lily and Alice, who had followed me down into the common room. They just rolled their eyes and pushed me further into the room.

Just as we were nearing the portrait hole, it suddenly opened and Sirius climbed through, carrying his shoes and socks in one hand while holding the door open with his other free hand. Next through the door was James who also had his shoes and socks off, followed by Peter and Remus, who again both had their shoes off.

Huh. If this is some new thing they are trying to start, then I am all for it! I hate shoes! They make my feet feel trapped and sad... or something.

Just as I was thinking about taking my own shoes off the boys spotted us and their way over before trying to all speak at once.

“Shaylee we didn’t me-”

“We’re sorry we thou-”

“It was all Sirius’ fau-”

“Hey!" Sirius cut off Peter who grinned at his friend.

“Guys! It’s okay. Let’s go sit down and talk” I basically shouted over the boys who started to banter amongst themselves about whose fault it was.

We all made our way over to one of the larger tables by the window and sat down. I found myself sitting between Lily and Alice on one side of the table with the boys squashed at the other side.

“Shaylee we are really sorry, we didn’t mean to upset you. We thought it would be funny and we thought you knew it was coming and thought you would even find it a bit funny, which obviously you didn’t because you charmed our socks to tickle us an-”

Sirius’ ramblings were interrupted by Lily, Alice and I breaking out into laughter.

HAHA! I had almost forgotten that I had charmed their socks to tickle them. That’s why they have no shoes on!

“You charmed their socks?” Alice asked me with a grin. I just grinned and shrugged nonchalantly.

Sirius and James folded their arms sulkily. “I hate being tickled” Sirius muttered darkly and when everyone laughed, he grinned as well.

“I’m sorry guys,” I said once everyone had settled down. “I over-reacted... I’m just not used to having many friends and I thought you guys were just pretending to be my friend to embarrass me. I’m sorry I charmed your socks” I finished lamely.

The marauders just grinned at me before James said, “Of course we aren’t just pretending to be your friend! If we didn’t genuinely like you, do you think we would put up with your insane self?” he laughed as I shouted ‘hey!’ at him before I smiled myself. James continued, “We’re sorry as well. We want you to know you’re not another ‘victim’ of our pranks, but that’s not to say we won’t prank you again!” He said with a mischievous grin.

“I’ll remember that next time I’m covered in honey and feathers” I said while laughing and rolling my eyes.

“Oh Shaylee, we have much to teach you. We never repeat a joke twice. That’s just tacky” Sirius said laughing along with everyone else.

“Well now that’s all cleared up” Remus said with a kind smile at me that made me stomach swoop happily, “Anyone up for a game of exploding snap?”

***

After many games of exploding snap in which I lost horribly every time but still had a great time non e the less, we all decided to go up to bed. Everyone slowly drifted off to their dormitories slowly, Lily and Alice giving me subtle winks. I stayed behind to clean up the playing cards. Because I am just that nice and thoughtful.

Alright! I give up! You got me! I only stayed back because Remus was packing up the cards and I wanted to be around him now that I no longer hated him... as if I ever could really.

Before I knew it, it was just Remus and I left at our table and as I picked up a few of the cards I blurted out, “I’m sorry I glared and shouted at you!”

Oh real smooth Shaylee. Couldn’t think of a smoother way of saying sorry?

Who am I kidding? This is me we’re talking about.

Remus smiled and looked me right in the eyes and said, “It’s okay Shaylee,” ahhh I love the way he says my name! “You just surprised us. We never knew you had a feisty side!” he joked playfully. I tried to control my blush. Remus continued, “I should be saying sorry for getting you into that mess in the first place”

“You know, now that I have had a chance to let the shock wear off and now no longer think you guys are just pretending, I actually think that the prank is actually kind of funny” I said with a smile.

“If you don’t mind me asking...” Remus began while looking down at the cards in his hands. “But why did you think that we were just pretending to be your friend?”

“I... It’s hard to explain,” I sighed as I shuffled the cards nervously.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” I looked up to see Remus looking at me intently and with full sincerity.

Oh Remus, why must you be so understanding and amazing! It makes it near impossible to not tell you anything you ask. If you asked me what me what my dream on the train really was about I would tell you in a heartbeat! It’s not fair I tell you!

Taking a deep breath and trying not to blush I said quietly, “It’s just, I’ve never really had any friends before. I mean once I had an imaginary friend. But she said she didn’t want to be friends with me anymore because I was weird...” Oh dear god. I did not just say that! Quick! Recover! “What I’m trying to say is, I guess I was just a little bit worried that you were all just playing some joke on me so when you pulled that prank, I thought you guys had completed you plan or something... I mean, come on! You’re the Marauders for Merlins sake!” I said with more force than I intended. Great, now he probably thinks I’m mad at him again!

Before I could say anything else, Remus said, “Shaylee that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!”

“I’m sure it’s not the MOST ridiculous thing you have ever heard,” I muttered more to myself but Remus heard me and smiled.

“Well that’s true I guess. I have heard worse. I mean, you should hear what Sirius says in his sleep!” He chuckled at this and I smiled.

“But really, we would never do that to you or anyone for that matter. Sure we like pranking people but we wouldn’t do it to purposely hurt someone.”

“I think I knew that all along, it’s just that I’m new to all of this,” I said while looking Remus in the eyes, trying not to be distracted by them. “I still can’t believe that we’re friends!”

“Well believe it,” Remus said while smiling at me, “and don’t ever think otherwise! Or else we will have to prank you again for you to remember!” he said while chuckling.

Holy Godric! When did Remus and I get this close to each other? I could have sworn a few seconds ago he was on the other side of the table. I could almost look up his nose if I wanted to!

Not that I did or anything... well, maybe a little. Shut up!

Remus seemed to notice how close we had unconsciously gotten and cleared his throat before saying somewhat awkwardly, “So, we agree? We are friends and no one is pretending?” I nodded and he grinned.

“Good, glad we got that cleared up.”

And then Remus Lupin did something I never thought possible in this life time.

He. Hugged. Me.

Quite startled by the fact that Remus was hugging me, it took me a second to realise what was going on and just when I had hugged back, he let go and moved away to pick up his pile of cards.

Do not pass out!

I could barely think of what to do with myself so I told my brain to shut up and to save this to obsess over later. Just please don’t embarrass me now!

Giving up on trying to suppress my blush and hoping that the darkened common room hid the extent of it from Remus, I picked up my stack of cards and handed them to him as calmly as I could.

We both made our ways over to the bottom of the boys and girls staircase and said shy goodnights to each other.

I had just reacted the fourth step to go up to bed and was about to go into full on melt down mode over Remus hugging me when Remus called quietly, “I really like your hair like that by the way, just so you know,” I turned around just in time to see him smile shyly before he went the rest of the way up to bed.

Oh Merlin, you great man, you.

How am I ever going to sleep tonight?

The answer is I wasn’t. But I am A-okay with that. So long as I could replay the feeling of Remus’ strong arms around me in a hug over and over again.

I awoke the next morning and lay in my bed just grinning to myself like an idiot.

Maybe I am an idiot, but I don’t care. I am a happy idiot!

I have finally let go of my paranoia that the Marauders are just pretending to be my friend. All it took was having to be covered in feathers, yelling at them and then making up with them for me to realise.

Simple right?

Maybe I should just ask them next time, eh?

And okay, maybe my good mood had something to with the fact that Remus hugged me. No big deal. Whatever.

Oh what am I saying? Of course it is a big deal! A big flippin’ one! Phew, I think I need to calm down.

As I got up, now smiling like a loon, I realised I was the first one up for once. This is amazing. I’m amazed. I’m sure everyone else would be amazed if they weren’t such lazy bums and were actually awake to see this momentous occasion. Though I doubt anything would wake Demelza. She really does snore like a troll.

Thank Godric Alice styled my hair last night. All I had to do was brush it and it hung straight and quite nicely without me having to attack it with my wand. Hmm. I wonder if Lily would mind if I tried out some of her makeup?

Now I will be the first to say, I don’t know a thing about makeup.

I know I am a sad excuse for a girl.

What are all these tiny brushes for exactly? And what am I meant to do with this little pencil thing? Why is there not an instruction manual for this?!

I was still frowning at Lily’s assortment of makeup when Lily herself walked into the bathroom and jumped slightly to already see me in here.

“Shaylee? You’re awake? What’s happened?” asked Lily with a sincere look of concern on her sleepy face, “Are you ill? Did you fall out of bed again?”

“No, calm down Lily. I just woke up early is all” I said with a grin.

Lily looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

Choosing to ignore the fact that she didn’t believe me, I hadn’t expected her to, I instead asked with my sweetest voice, “Lily... would you mind, um, teaching me how to use makeup?” I fluttered my eyelashes for extra effect.

“Why do you keep blinking at me?” I stopped my eye fluttering. “Do you really not know how to use makeup?”

I shook my head, blushing slightly. Great. Now Lily knows I am crap at being a girl. Though I doubt that wasn’t already common knowledge. Sigh.

“Oh this is going to be fun! Just wait while I go wake Alice. She will kill me if she misses this,” Lily said with an excitement I didn’t think was possible this early in the morning.

***

Oh dear. What have I gotten myself into? Why did I ask for Lily’s help? I feel so silly! I must change immediately.

“Don’t even think about it,” Lily whispered to me, as if she knew that at that exact moment I was planning on turning around and running back to our dorm. If a few first years got in my way and happened to be startled, so be it.

“Stop fidgeting, people will think you have ants in your pants,” Alice said while swatting my hand away from the hem of my skirt. “You look great!”

Resisting the urge to tell Alice that I wasn’t actually wearing pants, sighing, I left my skirt alone. Why did I let them talk me out of wearing my tights? I always wore my tights with my uniform, even if it was a million degrees. I feel naked without them!

I looked at Lily and Alice’s bare legs. They barely ever wore tights. Well it’s okay for them. They have nice legs!

When Alice and Lily had asked me about my sudden urge for a make-over, in a moment of madness I confessed what Remus had said about my hair last night and how I wanted him to keep noticing me. I may have also gone into a very detailed ten minute girly gush about his hug...

Alice had squealed in girly giddiness at finding out I liked Remus. I made her swear she wouldn’t tell anyone! Lily, of course, had already known about me liking Remus since the train ride.

Lucky I had woken up early because it had taken most of morning before breakfast for Lily and Alice to finish helping me.

I have come to the conclusion that makeup is, at the same time, both amazing and evil. Evil because it hurts when you poke yourself in the eye with this stupid thing called a mascara wand. I mean, it’s not even a proper wand!

... I know that because I tried to wave it around and make it do magic. It didn’t. Lily and Alice laughed for ages.

But it’s also amazing because it actually made my eyes look quite nice, for once making my usually murky green eyes more of a bright grass green. The mascara I didn’t mind. Even the eyeliner was alright. It was more my ‘improved’ school uniform I was worried about.

Alice had insisted that I shorten my skirt a tiny bit. She called me a nun.

“Just because my skirt isn’t so short you can nearly see my knickers does not make me a nun!” I had said in my defence.

“That’s true, but Shaylee, your skirt is closer to your ankles than it is to your knees. I’m surprised you don’t trip over it all the time! And as for your shirt... Well just put it this way, it sort of makes you look bigger than you actually are,” Alice said gently.

I will never tell her how often I actually do trip over my skirt. As for my shirt... well that is sort of true. It is very baggy.

So that is how I found myself walking to breakfast with Lily and Alice in a Gryffindor shirt that now hugs my curves and shows off my slim waist, (that’s what Lily said it did anyway), and a skirt that is just above my knees. I calmed down about my shortened skirt when I saw a fifth year Ravenclaw girl strut past in a skirt so short I could see her pink undies!

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for ‘being myself and not having to change for anyone’, blah, blah, blah. But come on! I had to transition from 12 to very nearly 17 sometime, right?!

“So, what class do we have first?” asked Alice as she linked her arms through mine and Lily’s.

“Potions which should be interesting. All the houses are mixed together for NEWT levels,” Lily said but I was barely listening because I was currently having a mini-panic attack as we were just about to enter the great hall where the Marauders would be.

Alright brain, we can do this! Just make sure that the legs don’t decide to go off and do their own thing and make sure you have control of my mouth and we will be fine!

What am I talking about, I’m doomed!

“Look there’s Remus,” Lily said nudging me with a sly smile on her face while she unlinked arms and stood in front of me. “Right just remember what we talked about. It’s all about confidence! Remember to smile, shoulders back and just be yourself!”

Right. I can do this. Smiling, now not too alarming, might tone it down a bit, yes good, good. Now shoulder’s back, standing straight. Good. Excellent.

“There you go,” Alice said with an encouraging smile which actually made me feel more confident.

I can totally do this!

The three of us walked casually towards the Marauders that were all laughing at Peter who had just spilt juice down his shirt. They all looked up as they heard us coming closer. Their eyes all widened as they looked at us.

That can’t be because of me could it? Oh god! I still have toothpaste or something on face! I was always an over enthusiastic tooth brusher. I blushed bright red and went to wipe my face when Sirius let out a low wolf whistle which caused many people to look over in our direction.

“Shaylee! Is that you?” Sirius asked with a sly grin on his face. I blushed so much that I felt like my face was about to catch fire as he, and amazingly, the rest of the Marauders looked me up and down.

Please ground, open up and swallow me whole!

I know I wanted attention but I take it all back!

“What Sirius is trying to say,” Remus began in a somewhat dazed voice and my heart did a somersault, “is that you look different.”

“Who knew you had legs!” James joked which caused Lily to roll her eyes.

I looked at Lily with a ‘What-the-heck-am-I-meant-to-say-to-that?!’ look and she thankfully saved me.

“Alright boys, eyes back in your heads please,” Lily said easily before sitting down next to James who looked delighted. Alice sat next to Peter and seeing that I had nowhere to sit, Sirius and Remus moved aside so that I could sit in-between them.

Oh Merlin, you have been very nice to me today. What do you want? You must want something if you are being this nice!

As I shyly sat down, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Remus glanced at me before looking away. He cleared his throat before reaching for the plate of toast, only to fumble and drop it, sending toast everywhere.

Adorable!

“Watch it Moony, if you’re not careful you will become as clumsy as Shaylee here,” Sirius said laughing while poking me in the ribs playfully.

“Hey! I’m not clumsy! I’m just... gravity challenged! Or something...” I mutter while smiling. Sirius rolled his eyes but Remus grinned at me.

Holy goodness. I am going to melt. Why must he be so gorgeous?

After an enjoyable breakfast, we all made our way to the dungeons for Potions. The Marauders were walking in front of Lily, Alice and I which was perfect because I could look longingly at Remus without being caught. Or that’s what I thought until I realised that Lily was looking at me.

Bugger.

She just smiled though and whispered, “Did you see how Remus kept glancing at you at breakfast!”

“What? Really? When?” I whispered back frantically.

“What are you girls whispering about back here? Is it how cute my butt is? I bet it is.” James said as he dropped back to walk with us while waggling his eyebrows. We couldn’t help but laugh, even Lily!

As we walked into the potions classroom I saw ‘Crazy’ Maisy waving frantically at Peter. He turned and glared at me.

“Mate I think you had better sit with her or else I fear she may hurt you,” James said while shoving Peter in Maisy’s direction. He had no choice but to sit with her seeing as how he nearly crashed into her.

Aha! You know what this means! Remus has no one to sit with!

As Remus took a seat behind James and Sirius, I was telling myself to ‘Just do it!’ I looked at Lily and Alice who had sat at a table and were mouthing at me, ‘Go sit with him you fool!’ I nodded and just as I was about to take a seat, the devil herself slid into the chair.

Okay, so when I say the Devil I don’t actually mean a red bloke with horns and a pointy stick took my spot next to Remus. That would just be weird.

It was Emily. Emma’s horrible best friend. One half of the Em&Em’s. Emily, the girl Emma was trying to set up with Remus at Quidditch training!

As I stood there open mouth staring at her, she turned around and smirked at me before saying to Remus in a simpering voice, “Oh you don’t mind if I sit here do you? Emma is ill today and I didn’t want to be on my own,” She even pouted! This girl is good.

Remus, being the kind and amazing guy that he is, really had no choice but to say he didn’t mind.

I like to think he was cursing her in his head and calling her horrible names. I don’t think he was. I think that’s just me.

Bloody great. Just when I get the chance to sit with Remus, another girl takes my seat! Lily and Alice looked at me lost for words. Great help they are! Where am I going to sit now?

I will tell you this for free, it will not be next to Germy Jamie. Again. All he does is sneeze and cough and look like he is about to keel over at any moment. Honestly, you think the boy has never heard of a pepper-up potion!

Just as I was contemplating pushing Sirius out of his seat so I could sit there, a piece of scrunched up parchment hit me in the back of the head.

I turned around to see where it had come from and sighed in relief when I saw McKinnen give me a small wave.

Oh merciful Merlin! You have saved me once again!

I smiled as I sat down next to McKinnen, only to realise that half of the class was looking at us. I raised my eyebrows only to realise that you can’t actually see my eyebrows through my fringe. I frowned instead and most of them looked away, the exception being James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, Alice and, very unfortunately, Emily. Peter was too busy looking at pictures of Maisy’s kitty-cats to notice.

They raised their eyebrows at me, so I went cross-eyed instead. I may have also stuck my tongue out like the mature woman I am... But that was only at Emily!

“You alright Shaylee?” McKinnen laughed as he saw my expression. I immediately stopped looking like a cross-eyed prat and fool and smiled at the boy next to me.

“Yeah... it’s just, why was everyone looking at us?” I asked, still confused.

This time McKinnen raised his eyebrows. “Uh, if you didn’t notice, the Gryffindor and Slytherin’s haven’t had a potions lesson together since fourth year. Also maybe the fact that we are the only two Gryffindor and Slytherin students sharing a table,” he said.

Ohhh, right. That whole stupid house rivalry thing. I just shrugged my shoulders at him which caused him to smile.

“You don’t care do you?” he asked, slightly surprised but none the less happy.

“Not particularly. I mean, so what if we are from different houses. You wear ugly green and silver and I wear pretty red and gold. So what? We can be friends right?”

“Are we friends?” asked McKinnen, a little timidly for a Slytherin.

Oh Shaylee you fool and half-wit! Just because you made some new friends does not mean everyone wants to suddenly be your friend!

“Err... if you want to be that is?” I mumbled shyly and was thankfully saved by Professor Slughorn entering the classroom and beginning the lesson, which today was making a cheering-up potion.

Well this is awkward. I asked if he wanted to be friends and then Slughorn interrupted and now McKinnen won’t talk to me! Great.

Feeling slightly put out I started on the potion, following the directions from my Advanced Potions Making book. I couldn’t stop myself from looking at the backs of Remus and Emily. Remus looked amazing from every angle. Emily how ever looked like a troll!

Okay, so that is a lie. She is very petite and has shiny blonde hair that seems to just sit perfectly and... Whatever. It’s not like I am jealous or anything.

Okay! So I am jealous! And why does she have to touch him so damn much! He should just give her a good karate chop to the arm! That would sort her out and make her stop touching him. Better yet, let me do it!

I was chopping my roots with a little more force than necessary when McKinnen placed his hand over mine to make me stop mutilating my ingredients.

“I do want to be friends,” McKinnen said, releasing my hand. That distracted me from my silent cursing of Emily.

“Why did it take you so long to answer?” I asked, still feeling slightly rejected and avoiding making eye contact with him.

To my surprise, he laughed. I looked at him like he was loopy. “Did you not see the death glares I was getting from the Marauders? I thought it best to wait until they had at least started their potions before trying to talk to you... though if that is any indication, it might be hard for us to be friend’s,” he sighed as I saw his eyes flick towards the group of boys and back.

I had been so absorbed in attacking my ingredients that I hadn’t noticed that anyone had been looking at us.

I looked up and caught Remus looking at us with an odd look on his face and Emily with an annoyed look on hers. I looked away before they could catch my eye.

What was that all about? Maybe Remus didn’t eat enough breakfast this morning. That would explain his weird look. Maybe he is starving! Get the poor boy some food!

“Where are you going?” McKinnen asked, startled by my sudden movement. I hadn’t even realised that I had gotten up. I looked around for an excuse and saw that Remus and Sirius were both looking at me questioningly. Emily had returned to her potion in a huff.

Now brain, we have had this talk many times. I may tell you do things in a moment of insanity, like go get Remus food in the middle of class. That does not mean actually let me do them!

“I... er... have to go borrow something from Sirius! That’s it! I’ll be right back,” I said in a hurry, probably confusing the hell out of McKinnen.

Thank god that Germy Jamie had just sneezed into his cauldron causing his potion to bubble and overflow onto the floor which kept Slughorn preoccupied while I quickly made my way to Sirius and James’ desk.

“Are you alright Shaylee? If we had known Emily was going to sit with Remus we would have swapped you or something so you didn’t have to sit with a Slytherin” Sirius said in a dark voice with a quick glance at McKinnen who was throwing ingredients into his potion with quite a bit of force and rather carelessly.

Is he angry? Why? Gah! Boys are so confusing! First Remus is hungry now McKinnen is grumpy. What next, Sirius cries and James explodes?!

“What? Oh no, McKinnen and I are friends. I don’t mind sitting with him. I just came to borrow your er... skinning knife? Yeah! That’s it,” I said before picking it up and waving it around just to make sure he knew that I had it. I could feel Remus and Emily looking at me again. I had my suspicions that Lily and Alice were as well.

“Whoa, calm down there,” James said while grabbing my hand holding the skinning knife and putting it slowly down on the desk before continuing, “Wait, did you say you’re friends with him?”

“Yeah?” I more asked than stated.

“Why? I mean, he’s a Slytherin!” Sirius said, not bothering to keep his voice down and causing a few of the Slytherin’s around him to glare angrily at him. He just smiled charmingly before rolling his eyes.

“Yes, so?” I again asked.

“But... he’s a Slytherin!” James, Sirius and Remus, who proved he had been watching the exchange and had now decided to join in the conversation, said at the same time.

“Yes and I am a girl! Great observation skills you lot have!” I said in a bit of a huff before I went back off to my desk, still clutching Sirius’ skinning knife that I hadn’t even needed.

McKinnen was still throwing things willy-nilly into his cauldron.

Quick! Stop him before he blows us all up!

I did nothing.

You know brain how I said about not letting me do things? Now is not the time to actually listen to me for once! Stop him!

“Hey, are you okay?” I said gently while I placed my hand on his arm. He stopped and looked at me slightly startled to see that I was back.

“Did you get what you needed?” he said in a gruff sort of voice. He had returned to his potion but in a much calmer manner.

“Oh, yeah,” I said with a grin while waving the knife around again. He looked at me quite alarmed. I slowly put the knife down on the table.

“You could have borrowed mine you know...” he said in a soft, almost hurt voice.

What can I say to that? It will definitely not be ‘Oh I know I could have, in fact I actually have my own. But you see, you caught me in a moment of insanity and I thought the best way to avoid telling you what I was really doing was to make up some story and once I had said it I had to follow through with it otherwise you would have thought I was more not normal than ever...’

Definitely not that.

Instead I chose to ignore his remark and instead said, “You know, I still don’t know your name!”

Oh yes, very subtle change of subject I know. Whatever, I was under pressure okay!

McKinnen seemed to cheer up at this, though I’m sure he knew I was changing the subject on purpose, and said, “Ahhh I had forgotten you didn’t know. Is the curiosity killing you yet?” he said it with a grin which made me feel relieved.

“Yes! I can’t stand it! I need to know!” I said quite dramatically while laughing.

“Well, too bad!”

“What! That is so not fair! You know my name! It is only fair that you tell me yours!” and I punched him lightly in the arm just to make sure he got my point.

“Babe, I’m a Slytherin. We are anything but fair,” he said with a sly grin.

Babe? BABE?! Where did that come from? Outta space? I have never been called ‘babe’ in my life.

Not that it’s bad or anything. Just surprising. Hmm. Babe. Maybe he calls everyone that?

Teeheehee. I just pictured him calling Severus Snape babe. Oh so wrong. Still funny though.

McKinnen cleared his throat, as if he had realised he had just called me ‘babe’ and quickly went back to his potion.

Deciding to be nice and save him from his embarrassment, I said, “Well how about this, whoever makes the better potion by the end of lesson wins. I win, you tell me your name. You win, I tell you my name. Deal? Good, go!” I then began furiously reading my instructions.

“Hey! That isn’t fair, I already know your name!” McKinnen said with a pout but he had already started on his potion again.

“I’m a Slytherin and nothing is fair... I also smell,” I said in a mock deep guy’s voice before grinning and getting back to my potion.

***

I am very obviously the best potion maker ever. Perhaps even a potions master! I should wear a cape and carry my cauldron around with me everywhere I go, even to the loo. I could take over the world if I wanted, not from the toilet obviously... But I won’t. I’m too lazy for that.

What I’m trying to say is that, I won!

Severus Snape even said so, and he is the best potions student Slughorn has. So there!

McKinnen and I had finished our potions at roughly the same time, a few minutes before the bell was due to ring. McKinnen had enlisted the help of Snape to judge our potions. He didn’t really want to but I think he did it just to show off his potion skills, as Lily and Alice and possibly the Marauders were listening in.

We didn’t tell him who had made each potion so it would be fair. After studying the two vials of cheering up potion, he threw McKinnens vial over his shoulder, drank mine while proclaiming it was the best potion he had ever seen before skipping jollily out the door.

Okay, so it didn’t EXACTLY happen like that.

It was more he sneered at both of the potions before saying, “This one is slightly better than this one, though that does not mean much for they are both only worth an E at best,” before giving us back our potions, looking bored.

Disregarding what old Sneery-Pant’s had to say about our potions grades, I turned to McKinnen with a giant grin and said, “I win! Bow down to me!”

I think I was letting my little triumph go to my head.

McKinnen just shook his head in mock sadness and declared, “I want a re-match!”

“No way! I won fair and square!”

“You call constantly pushing and poking me to distract me ‘fair and square’?” McKinnen asked with a raised eyebrow but with a grin.

“Why yes, yes I do. Now, let’s get down to business. I have come to collect what is owed to me. Mr. McKinnen, what is your name?” I said in a serious tone. By this time Lily and Alice had made their way over to our desk. I noticed that everyone had packed up and many students were standing around talking waiting for the bell. Slughorn was once again busy attending to Germy Jamie’s cauldron.

Seeming to almost ignore Lily and Alice, McKinnen sighed loudly and dramatically and said, “My name is...”

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! The bell cut off McKinnen. He smiled devilishly and before I knew it he had grabbed his bag and was out the door but not before saying over his shoulder, “Gotta run, I’ve got Transfiguration. Don’t want McGonagall giving me another detention! See ya!”

I stared at the door open mouthed.

What? What?! WHAT?! Again?!

I hate him. I do. Really.

Well... sorta.

Okay, so I don’t. But I really do wish he would just tell me his stupid name! It is probably something like Bob. Or Merlin. Jesus maybe? My bet is Bob.

I looked at Lily and Alice, still open mouthed, and they just laughed at me.

“What was that all about?” Lily asked with an amused look on her face.

I explained about our little bet and they just laughed before Alice said, “I didn’t know you were friends with a Slytherin.”

I shrugged my shoulders and said, “It’s no big deal.”

“What’s no big deal?” asked Sirius as he, James, Remus and Peter, who had escaped Maisy’s clutches, joined us on the way out of the classroom.

“You, my darling!” I said dramatically while grinning up at Sirius who pretended to look shocked. I had forgiven them for their jabs about me being friends with McKinnen.

My darling? Did I really just say that? Dear god, I did say that. And to Sirius Black!

“I am too a big deal! I mean, look at me!” Sirius said just as dramatically as I had, causing everyone to laugh as we made our way out of the dungeons.

“Hmm, nope, I don’t think so,” I said shaking my head.

“I have to agree with her Padfoot,” Remus said, winking at me.

Oh swoon! I think I actually managed to smile back! I didn’t dare attempt to wink back at him. I’m not very good at winking. I usually just end up blinking rapidly. It is actually quite scary for the recipient. Nice work though brain! Smiling is good!

Sirius gasped loudly and said in a shrill voice, “Take that back!”

We all carried on like this all the way down to the greenhouses for Herbology. I couldn’t stop grinning. My face actually hurt from it but who cares!

Alice, Lily and I sat at a table together with a quiet Hufflepuff girl named Sarah. I had a clear view of Remus from where I was sitting so I was happy. Lily gave me a knowing look. I poked my tongue out at her.

Just as I snuck a quick peek at Remus, I noticed he was looking at me as well.

I may have looked behind me to make sure he was actually looking at me...

He was.

He smiled at me and I very nearly toppled off my chair. What? He has that effect on me okay!

Not really knowing what to do, I smiled back, probably a little crazily, and quickly pretend to look through my bag for a quill.

I didn’t find a quill, though I did find a piece of folded parchment.

Looking around to see where the Professor was, I quickly unfolded the parchment. It only had two words on it.

‘Aiden McKinnen.’

A/N: Ahhh so we finally find out the infamous McKinnens first name! Love it? Hate it? Wish it were really Jesus? Let me know with a review! Thank you for reading!

"You alright Moony?" James' voice jolted me out of my day dreaming. We were in our favourite comfy chairs by the common room fire. The plan had been to do some homework but that idea had been abandoned rather quickly.

For instance Peter was busy reading the latest Quidditch weekly, no doubt trying to pick up some tips to at least try and keep up with James and Sirius when they talked Quidditch. James and Sirius were busy playing a game of chess, not trying to keep their voices or their whoops of victory down in the slightest. I had tried to focus on my Potions homework but found it difficult. That may have something to do with the fact that directly in my line of sight by the big tower window sat a very different Shaylee.

Ever since she walked into the Great Hall this morning, seeming to have transformed over night, I couldn't help but steal glances at her.

It shouldn't have come as such a surprise. I mean I had known her all our schooling life; she was in our house after all, though admittedly having never spoken to her. It was just she was so quiet and I more than had my hands full what with the other Marauders and not to mention my... er, problem.

Of course I had noticed she was rather pretty in a sort of reserved way, especially in fifth year when she had somewhat come out her awkward pre-teen phase. It wasn't until this morning that I realised that she was, dare say, beautiful and more than a little sexy. Though I highly doubt she knew that she was either.

It was a surprise though when she walked into the Great Hall looking... considerably different. She was still herself... only better? It wasn't just the obvious change of clothing, though no boy was complaining about her shortened skirt, including me. I mean I had known she had nice legs from that time we saw her out exercising but I hadn't really realised just exactly how nice they were.

Merlin, I'm turning into Sirius!

What really struck me was the increase in her confidence. It was like she was a completely different person in the way she walked into the hall, head held high and with an obvious grace.

Shaking my head to clear further thoughts I realised I hadn't answered James which had gotten the attention of both Peter and Sirius. They were all looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah mate, I'm fine. Just... distracted," I finished rather lamely ensuring that I didn't even think about looking over at Shaylee, who at last glance was in deep conversation with Lily and Alice.

“You sure?" Sirius said with a concerned look. He lowered his voice before continuing, "because I know the full moon is less than a week away..."

Right. The full moon. I had been so distracted today by the way Shaylee looked that I had almost forgotten how close the full moon was.

James, who had brightened at the mention of the full moon, saved me from answering by launching into a full scale planning session for our next adventure.

I tried my hardest to pay attention and put in as much input as I normally would but found it just a little difficult.

What with Shaylee across the room having just gotten up from her seat to retrieve an errant piece of parchment. I realised with a jolt that I wasn't the only male in the room watching her as she bent to get the parchment and returned to her seat and crossed her ridiculously long legs. And she was completely oblivious to it!

My stomach dropped somewhat when I realised also that I wasn't the only one who wasn't fully listening to James. I realised that Sirius had also been watching Shaylee. I felt... weird, and a little worried. Sirius had no trouble getting girls and if he had his sights set on Shaylee then what chance did I have?

Did I even want a chance? Shaylee was fast becoming a good friend and I didn't want to ruin that before it even started. There was also the obvious and probably the biggest reason being my 'fury little problem' as James so kindly called it. Also, did I like her? Or did I simply find her attractive? Oh I don't know! I frowned at these thoughts and looked away from the laughing girls.

As I continued to muse over these thoughts Sirius let out a low whistle and said to us with a grin, "Shaylee is rather fit isn't she? Why did we not notice that before?"

There was that weird feeling again. What was it? Pushing it aside I tried to join the conversation in what I hoped was a normal manner.

We all looked over at the girls table, James not doubt only looking at Lily. Sirius and Peter were more obviously looking at Shaylee. It made me a bit uncomfortable and I could almost feel an animalistic growl forming if every bloody male in the room didn't get their eyes back on their own work.

Wait a minute... animalistic growl? The full moon! Of course I was feeling so strange. The full moon being so close meant that my hormones were running wild, more than just your normal teenage boy hormones that is. Though grouped with my wolfish feelings it would certainly explain the increased feelings I had towards Shaylee, regardless of her recent changes.

Well there you have it, though I admit Shaylee is very good looking and very funny, all the strange feelings I have been having is all because of my little problem. Which once it passes should mean that everything will be back to normal and I have no worries of ruining our new friendship. And if Sirius, or any guy for that matter, was to decide to make a move on Shaylee then it shouldn't worry me.

... Right?

Shaylee's POV:

Amy Worth. I hate her! I do. Really.

Okay, so maybe that is a little over the top. But then I saw Remus glance at her again.

I hate her.

Sitting with Alice and Lily in the crowded common room was somehow meant to be productive. That's what we told ourselves anyway.

It wasn't.

We were supposed to be doing potions homework but that lay forgotten. Who needs homework when there are more important things to discuss like boys and... er, boys.

I may or may not have also been using my time to look at Remus and make up ridiculous day dreams.

That is until I realised that he kept looking in our direction. For a crazy second I thought he was looking at me. Then I heard laughter from the table behind us and saw Amy-bloody-Worth sitting with a group of her friends.

Of course he was looking at her. She was a very pretty sixth year after all.

That's it! I will never look at him again!

...

Yep. That lasted all of 30 seconds. Bugger.

Frowning and trying to not think of hexes that I could subtly do to Amy, I noticed Lily's eyes drifting back to her half-finished essay. Quick! Think of something to distract her before she does something stupid like want to study!

"James is staring at you again!" I said the first thing coming to my head. Alice caught my eye and winked. She knew exactly what I was doing.

"What? No he isn't," Lily said, successfully distracted. Alice and I smirked as Lily quickly looked at the group of boys by the fire.

I knew James was looking at her. He was doing it quite subtly. That is more than I can say for myself.

"Lily when are you and James just going to stop pretending and just live happily ever after?" Alice said with a grin at Lily.

"I..." Lily couldn't finish her sentence.

Alice and I just grinned and laughed.

The rest of the evening passed pleasantly enough. That is if you disregard the fact that every time I caught Remus glancing at Amy I wanted to curse her. But you know, other than that, it was rather fun. Between Alice and I we managed to successfully distract Lily from making us do homework, which I'm sure we will regret later, but who cares!

As us girls got up to go up to bed Remus surprised me by calling out, "Hey girls, you haven't seen my Charms book have you?"

Uh oh.

I had been wondering what he had been looking for for the past 15 minutes, having even taken a trip up to his dormitory and back, empty handed.

That’s it! The jig is up! He has found me out!

I may or may not have stolen Remus' Charms book in a moment of evil mastermind inspiration. Also because at the time he had turned me into the Chicken Girl.

But... But... But you can't prove anything!

Right?

Well other than the fact that if anyone was to look under my pillow they would find notes from Remus and/or his Charms textbook.

Bugger.

Okay, and so what if I moved it from its hiding spot, (previously under my bed), to under my pillow. That's not weird or anything.

Right?

Oh poop. Remus is looking expectantly at me, Lily and Alice having replied 'No, sorry'. Quick! Think of something! And make sure it's not stupid!

Ha, fat chance.

"Maybe the house elves stole it!"

Why, oh why did I have to say that? Now everyone is looking at me weirdly and I am required to go into a big rambling tangent that will make no sense whatsoever and will make Remus think I am a nutter.

Well not this time!

"Er, yes well. Goodnight!" I said with a smile before hurrying off up the stairs.

Yes, because that was muuuuch smoother.

Not.

Lily and Alice came bursting into the room laughing like a bunch of laughing people, clinging to each other for support.

"That... that was classic!" Lily managed to choke out through her giggles.

I just looked at her.

"Did you see... see their faces?! They were so shocked!" Alice said, struggling as well to get the words out.

Once they had calmed down enough to make full words again, Lily looked at me and said with a grin, "That was so not what they were expecting you to say. And you said it with such a straight face! Brilliant!"

Say what?

They actually think my nonsense brain and lack of control over my mouth is funny?

Well call me Merlin.

Actually don't. I'm not a bearded old bloke.

Or am I?!

Er, I'm not. Shut up.

"I didn't know what to say! I panicked!" I said with a pout.

"Why would you panic?" Alice asked with an amused look.

I pulled Remus' Charms book out from under my pillow, fully ready for the onslaught of laughter.

They did not disappoint.

I wish they had.

"You mean you actually took it!" Alice howled with laughter.

"But why?" Lily asked, laughing as well.

"It was after they made me the Chicken Girl! It was just sitting there on the table so I took it out of revenge! It being Remus' book was just a bonus..." I finished lamely with a girly smile.

"Wait a minute... this gives me an idea!" Lily said, her mischievous grin back on her face.

Oh no.

***

Lily and her bloody ideas.

Why, you might ask, are Lily, Alice and I hiding in the Marauders bathroom, praying to Merlin that one of them don't happen to want to use the loo or have a random cold shower.

Two words: Lily's idea.

Let me explain.

After we had all stopped laughing last night and gone to bed I had expected to wake up and Lily would have forgotten all about her idea.

Wrong!

I woke up to her eerily close to my face, her having tried many other ways to wake me up. I nearly fell out of bed when Alice popped up on my other side.

"What are you two doing?!" I mumbled groggily, turning over and putting my pillow over my head.

"Waking you up so we can start step one of our plan!" Lily said happily, pulling the pillow off my head and hitting me with it.

How can they have so much energy this early in the morning?!

Obviously they are not normal.

"Shut up!" Came Demelza's angry, sleepy voice from her bed.

Alice rolled her eyes and said, "I heard that Sirius was downstairs looking for you..." before winking at us.

Demelza shot up in bed so quickly I thought she would fall out of it. "What?!" She shouted before leaping out of her bed and dashing to the bathroom.

We all giggled and I finally sat up in my bed, the sight of Demelza running around like a crazy person enough to fully wake me up. Lily and Alice plopped down in front of me.

"So. Step one: Lull them into a false sense of security." Lily said, ticking one off her fingers.

"Hang on," I started, "I didn't think you were serious about this!"

Lily's plan was simple. Steal, or borrow as Lily had called it, the Marauder’s most embarrassing items and then either show them to the whole school or use them to make them do stuff for us.

"Of course I was serious! This is their payback for making you the Chicken Girl! And you know they would prank you again if they could."

"Yes... well..." I said hesitantly. It was true; they did say they would prank me again. And this sounded like a much better revenge plan than just stealing Remus' Charms book.

"Right, so we are going to have to spend lots of time with them today so that when things go missing they won't think it was us! Brilliant, I know." Lily said quite proudly.

"And how do you suggest we gather their things if we are with them all the time?" I said with a raised eyebrow.

"We take it in turns to hang out with them! So while one or two of us is talking to them or whatnot, the other one can sneak up to the dorm and have a little peek for anything incriminating..." Lily finished with a simple smile.

Whoa. Wait up.

"You mean to say that we are actually going to go into their room, their inner sanctum and 'have a peek'?!" I said frantically.

"Yep!" Lily and Alice said together.

"And you two aren't worried about you know, them catching us or anything? Or the fact that you are Head Girl Lily?"

Lily shrugged. "Not really, I mean at least one of us will be with them at all times so that should give the others enough time to find something and stash it back here. It's not like they can come and get it from our room!"

Ha. Knowing the Marauders it would not surprise me if they could.

“Plus me being the Head Girl only means we have less chance of getting in trouble!” Lily said brightly.

Is this the same Lily everyone thought they knew? Has she always been like this secret trouble maker and I had just never known her well enough? Blimey.

“Lily does this whole plan happen to have anything to do with that fact that you just want to hang around James all day and you just want an excuse?” I asked Lily with an innocent smile.

Alice tried to hide her snort of laughter and Lily looked at me in ‘outrage’.

“What?! No! Of course not!” Lily said, her face bright red.

Lies!

Alice and I laughed while Lily pouted. We laughed even harder when Demelza hurried out of the room to go find Sirius who would be shocked to see her.

“So are you in or what?” Alice asked me with her own mischievous smile.

I looked from Alice who was smiling like a crazy person to Lily who was nodding her head at me like some weird nodding person.

"Alright! I'm in! Now get out of my bed!" I said, before shoving both of them off my bed and onto the floor.

Why, oh why did I agree?

Simple.

Because I am Shaylee.

***

"Hey guys!" I said, surprising myself at how confident and relaxed I sounded. Good going brain!

"Hey girls," said Sirius smiling as the four Marauder’s turned at the sound of my voice. They slowed so Lily and I could catch up. "You two headed to a class?"

"Nope, we both have a free period this morning!" I said grinning. When did it become so easy to talk to the most popular boys in the school?

"What about you lot?" Lily asked, smiling slightly at James' dazed look that Lily was actually seeking his company.

"We are all free as well," James said hurriedly, to make sure he was the one to answer Lily. "We were actually going to go out by the lake... you two are welcome to come if you have nothing else to do... or something?" James finished in a rather shy voice.

Oh Lily, go out with him you fool! He is just too cute!

Lily turned bright red and smiled at him rather shyly. So to save her from dying of embarrassment I said, "Yeah sounds good".

I may have also smiled at Remus.

I just can't help myself okay!

He did smile back though. Oh swoon!

So Lily and I trailed out of the castle and out to the Black Lake where all the boys flopped down on the ground. Lily and I grinned at each other. Plan is officially in motion!

As Lily and I sat down on the grass, I next to Remus and Sirius and Lily next to James and Peter, Alice should now be entering the enemy's lair.

We spent the next half an hour lazing on the grass, joking and making fun of each other. I realised a little too late that I had moved closer to Remus without really noticing it. Which was amazing because I was always aware of where he was and what he was doing.

That sounded really stalkerish didn't it?

Bugger.

I realised I was too close to him when our hands and shoulders bumped against each other, making my stomach do a stupid flip-flop thing. He didn't seem to notice or mind so I controlled my freak out and moved subtly away from him, which put me closer to Sirius.

After a (surprisingly) funny joke from Peter, we were nearly all rolling around laughing. I clung to Sirius' shoulder for support and he put his arm casually around my waist.

Hmm. That isn't weird right? I mean he has put his arm around me plenty of times now. So deciding not to feel or act uncomfortable when he didn't move his arm after we had stop laughing, I just enjoyed the comfort of it.

Remus' POV:

It took me a moment to realise that Sirius had his arm around Shaylee's waist. I suddenly wanted to forcibly remove it from there. Frowning I looked away from them, both looking comfortable and cozy. I knew why I was feeling like this but it didn't stop the hint of jealousy. I mean she was gorgeous after all. And funny. And smart. And completely crazy. And... And... And... oh I don't know!

I'm going to just have to wait and see until after the full moon to even begin to try and figure out what was going on with me and my feelings.

I was distracted from my inner musing by Shaylee's squeals of laughter and the sight of her trying to wiggle away from Sirius who was tickling her stomach. Trying not to watch as her school shirt lifted to reveal her stomach I looked anywhere but them.

I noticed James staring at Lily in a way I'm sure he thought was subtle. Peter was watching Shaylee and Sirius with a look of interest. Lily was looking at me with a small smile playing on her lips. Then noticing Shaylee and Sirius she looked at them and frowned.

What does that mean? Girls are so weird.

We were sitting very near to the water’s edge and I picked up a rock and threw it into the dark water. I was just about to throw another one when I was suddenly splashed with water.

Everyone was silent while we all looked at the water in shock.

Well everyone except Shaylee who jumped up (Sirius finally dropping his arm) and said with a happy grin on her face, "Barry!"

We all just looked at her.

She rolled her eyes and gestured to the lake, "Barry, you know, the giant squid!"

"You know the Giant Squid?" Peter asked with a confused look.

"You named him Barry?" James asked laughing. It was James' turn to get a face full of water. This time I saw that the splash was made by a giant tentacle some ways away from the shore.

Shaylee giggled and shouted out to the lake, "Now Barry that wasn't very nice! Great aim though!"

Is this really happening? Is she having a conversation with the giant squid?

Apparently.

Shaylee continued to talk to Barry who in response splashed the water about. Just as she was finishing telling 'Barry' about her summer holiday someone called out, "Shaylee!" from across the lawn.

We all looked over and saw McKinnen waving our way.

I dislike him.

Shaylee's POV:

I heard McKinnen, or now known as Aiden, call out and saw him waving at me. I quickly said goodbye to Barry and said a quick 'I'll be back in a minute' to the group and went over to Aiden who was grinning at me.

"Why hello Mr. Not-So-Mysterious! Or shall I call you Aiden?" I asked grinning.

He pretended to act shocked before gasping, "You mean you have figured me out? But how?!"

I tried to look mysterious and said in a deep mystical voice, "I have my ways... you also left a note in my bag, so you know, there's that."

"Ahh yes well I thought I had better tell you before you hurt your pretty little head with all that thinking going on," Aiden said smirking.

I pretended to be offended and said, "Hey! That was mean!" I hit his arm and he rolled his eyes at me. We carried on this way for a bit. Mostly us insulting each other but in a friendly way.

How did I suddenly become friends with such good looking guys?!

Obviously this is a dream.

I pinched myself.

Nope, real.

Amazing.

We continued laughing and before I knew it our chat had become rather flirty.

I couldn't help it alright?! I am a teenage girl after all! And he is very good looking.

Not as good looking as Remus, but you know, who is?

Remus is! Haha geddit?! Shut up brain!

Aiden playfully pushed me and was rather close to me.

Oh my, could this boy pull off a sexy smirk!

That is before his face darkened. Noticing, I asked what was wrong and he responded with, "Just some people not worth our time..."

Before I could answer I felt someone behind me. Or someone’s I should say.

Remus and Sirius.

Oh this is going to end just spiffing.

Not.

"What do you think you're doing McKinnen?" Sirius asked in a dark voice, stepping out in front of me slightly so he was face to face with Aiden. Sirius was only slightly taller but his strength was radiating everywhere.

What is going on? I am so confused. Though I guess it's not the first time. And Sirius shouldn't be talking to Aiden like that!

"Though it is none of your business Black," Aiden almost spat, "But I am talking to Shaylee, so if you don't mind why don't you and Lupin clear off and leave us alone?"

Hmm. Is this his Slytherin side? I don't like it! Where is my nice Aiden? And it's rather scary. He is all glare-y and everything. And he shouldn't talk to Sirius like that!

I took an involuntary step back when Aiden took a step closer to Sirius in an attempt to intimidate him I suppose. I am not getting in the middle of some stupid boy fight! I could end up dead! Or worse, looking as bad as Demelza in the mornings! I shuddered.

Why haven't I said anything yet?

Just as I was about to say something in protest, having noticed that both boys had taken out their wands, Remus grabbed my hand and pulled me close to him.

I will never be able to speak again.

I am speechless.

...

Wow.

Remus' POV:

Realising that Sirius and McKinnen both had their wands out and that Shaylee had taken a step away from them, a look of confusion and uneasiness on her face I couldn't help be pull her close to me. I felt like I had to protect her. I barely heard what Sirius and McKinnen were saying to each other. I was all too aware of Shaylee's body pressed to my side.

I never realised just how tiny she is! I mean I knew she was skinny, that is obvious. But I never realised just how petite she is until I could feel her body against mine. The top of her head came to my shoulders and her hand felt so small and soft in my large rough one.

Forcing myself to stop thinking about Shaylee I focused back in on what was going on in front of me.

"You lot just prance around the castle acting like you're some sort of celebrities or something! But the only reason people fall all over you is because they are too stupid to realise who you all really are. A bunch of arrogant bastards!" McKinnen said a thunderous look on his face.

"Aiden!" Shaylee exclaimed, obviously shocked.

McKinnen's face softened at the sound of Shaylee's voice which made me prickle with anger. He likes her! Merlin at this rate I will have no chance! I pulled Shaylee closer, if possible, and instead wrapped my arm around her waist protectively, much like Sirius had done before.

McKinnen's face changed rapidly from soft to furious to hurt, having not missed this obvious gesture. He gave a humourless laugh and looking squarely at Shaylee said in a dark voice, "I should have known. You're just like everyone else." Shaking his head, almost sadly, he said softly, "See you around." before ignoring Sirius and I completely and stalking off in the direction of the castle.

I looked down at Shaylee and she was just staring open mouthed after McKinnen who had disappeared into the castle.

“Uh… let’s go back to the others yeah?” I said softly, noticing that Shaylee looked upset. Sirius Looked at my arm around Shaylee and raised his eyebrows. Oh bugger now he is going to think something is going on.

Before I could do anything Sirius noticed Shaylee’s face. He came up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders so I decided to move away from Shaylee, dropping my arm.

“Hey, are you alright? I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to upset you or anything. Please don’t be angry with me, I was only trying to protect you…” Sirius trailed off looking at Shaylee with one of his most sincere ‘sorry’ faces.

Blimey, he must really like her if he is giving her that look!

Shaylee’s POV:

I can’t decide if I am angry at Sirius or not. He is making it very difficult to hate him for starting all this conflict with Aiden when he is looking at me like this. Plus he made Remus move away!

That’s it! I hate him!

…

Oh Merlin! Now he is pouting! Stop it! I want to be grumpy with you!

Sighing, knowing there is no hope, I said is grumbly sort of voice, “I’m not angry with you.”

Sirius grinned like he knew all along that I wouldn’t be that mad at him.

“But that doesn’t mean what you did was okay!” I said hitting him on the chest. “And you!” I said to Remus who looked startled. “You are meant to be the sensible one!” I hit him on the shoulder. I don’t think I even remotely hurt either of them. My fists aren’t very big nor do I have much upper body strength. Bugger.

“Hey!” Remus and Sirius said together, both now frowning.

“Oh you two deserved that. I was just talking to him for Merlin’s sake. He is my friend and I know that you guys don’t like him but that is no excuse for starting that whole little thing.”

Remus and Sirius had the good grace to look at least a little ashamed. Satisfied that I had told them off enough I turned to head back over to the others who had obviously been watching.

“What happened? Is everything alright? We didn’t notice anything was wrong until we saw McKinnen walking off.” Lily said immediately as soon as I was within earshot, Remus and Sirius just behind me.

I rolled my eyes and said “Just boys being stupid, nothing new.” Lily and I smirked at each other when the four boys protested loudly.

“Just telling the truth boys,” I said with a shrug.

“You will pay for that one!” Sirius said with a mischievous smile, much like Lily’s. They have probably been practicing together in the mirror.

Before I knew what was happening Sirius grabbed me by the waist and threw me over his shoulder. I shrieked in surprised and frantically tried to make sure my skirt wasn’t somewhere over my head.

Good gravy! The whole world is going to see my knickers! Remus is going to see my knickers! They aren’t even my nicest pair!

“Sirius! Put me down!” I shouted, trying to wiggle out of his grip. “And don’t you dare even think about what throwing me in the lake!” He had started slowly moving towards the lake. As he did I could see that James and Peter were on the ground laughing, Lily was somewhere between angry and bursting with laughter and Remus was laughing but not in his usual whole-hearted kind of way.

“If you keep moving about like that everyone will see your undies.” Sirius said through his laughter.

“I hate you!” I shouted at, well, Sirius’ bum really as I couldn’t see his face.

Hmm… it is a nice bum… Wait what?

“No you don’t,” Sirius said confidently and I could tell he was smiling.

“I do. I really do,” I said in my most deadpan voice I could manage. My stomach is really starting to hurt now. Dear god I hope he doesn’t drop me.

“N-No you don’t,” Sirius said again, though this time was noticeably less confident with a hint of worry.

I remained silent and stopped struggling.

“Shaylee?” Sirius asked, stopped at the water’s edge.

The others were all silent as they watched. I caught Remus’ eye and I winked to let him know what I was up to. I actually managed a wink! And not just some demented rapid blink. Hurray!

Remus grinned at me. I very nearly died.

While all this was going on, Sirius was getting increasingly less confident that I didn’t hate him. I must say, I didn’t really think this plan would work. I mean who knew that Sirius Black cared if I hated him or not. I felt quite pleased.

“I’m going to put you down okay?” Sirius said to me softly so that only I could hear him. I was grateful for the warning because suddenly I was back on the ground and staring up at Sirius’ worried face. He had his back to the water so thankfully he hadn’t set me down in the muddy shallows.

I frowned at him for a moment before I grinned at him. He looked surprised at first before realisation dawned.

“Why you lit-” he started, but before he could say anything else I shoved him as hard as I could manage. He stumbled backwards, his arms trying to regain his balance but failed and he went splashing backwards into the murky water.

To be continued...

A/N: So that was part one of the girl’s payback on the Marauders. I had to split it into two parts because it was a bit long to have as just one chapter. So you will just have to wait and see how the girls all ended up in the boy’s dormitory!

I tried to put lots of Remus goodness in this chapter. There is also quite a bit of Sirius in there (I think I like him as much as Remus :D) with a bit of Aiden as well. Love rectangle anyone?

Lily, looking shocked, looked from me to Sirius splashing around in the water.

Remus, James and Peter looked from Lily, to me to Sirius before collapsing on the ground in fits of laughter.

Oh dear sweet Merlin, what have I done.

I have very obviously gone mental. Sirius is going to murder me!

I have ruined his hair!

The girls of Hogwarts are going to murder me!

And yet I am still standing here like an idiot.

Run away you fool!

I didn’t.

Lily being the first to recover from staring in shock laughed loudly and grabbed my arm. She started to drag me away saying, “Come on! You better run before he kills you!”

Finally coming to my senses, Lily and I took off running back towards the castle. The Marauders didn’t even notice we had left. Sirius was still splashing around in the water like some demented goldfish while his ‘friends’ were beside themselves with laughter.

Lily and I skidded into the entrance hall and slowed to a brisk walk as Filch was sure to be lurking around somewhere just waiting to give us detention for ‘running in the halls like ninny’s’ . We kept looking over our shoulders expecting to see the Marauders chasing us.

As we passed the stairs leading down to the dungeons Aiden jumped out at us and said ‘SURPRISE!’ while waving his arms around wildly. Lily and I screamed in surprise and just about had heart attacks.

Okay so he didn’t exactly do that.

He actually just walked up the stairs and said “Shaylee?” I’m sad to say that Lily and I really did scream in surprise. We are jumpy about the Marauders catching up to us alright!

“Calm down! It’s just me!” Aiden said in an alarmed voice, holding up his hands as if in a calming way.

“Aiden!” I said and smiled at him. He’s still talking to me! Hurray!

“I just wanted to say-” he started but was cut off by the distant shout of “GET THEM!”

Oh my good God.

“I would really love to stay and chat but we must dash!” I said as Lily began dragging me away again.

“Yeah, sure,” Aiden said as he glared at the ground.

Ohhhh no. Now he is grumpy with me again. Fighting off Lily I walked over to him and forced him to look at me.

“Will you meet me tonight? We can hang out, no interruptions, I promise!” I said and gave him my puppy dog face.

No one can resist the puppy dog face!

Aiden looked at me for a moment. Oh no he is resisting the face! This has never happened before. I don’t know what to do now. It always works on my brothers!

“Alright. The Library say 7 o’clock?” Aiden asked with a small smile.

AHA! The face has won!

“Come on! We have to go rescue Alice!” Lily said frantically, halfway up the stairs. Oh great now this is a rescue mission.

“Okay, see you after dinner!” I said over my shoulder to a half amused Aiden as he shook his head in a ‘why-am-I-friends-with-a-crazy-person’ sort of way before he walked off back towards his common room.

As I reached Lily at the top of the stairs we started our brisk walk towards our common room, still wary of Filch. Also because I do not enjoy running nor turning into the Tomato Girl.

“So why do we have to rescue Alice?” I panted slightly. Oh great the transformation is starting! I can feel my face getting all red.

I have said it once and I will say it again. Exercise is crap.

“Because she is still is their dorm and Sirius is bound to go straight there. You did push him into the lake after all,” Lily explained and I could tell she was smiling at the thought of Sirius the Goldfish.

Lily and I hustled through the portrait hole and into the common room. Thankfully there was no one in there to see us run up the boy’s staircase as I’m sure there would be some awkward questions.

We burst through the slightly ajar door of the Marauders room and very nearly gave Alice a heart attack. She was standing next to one of the four beds, holding what appeared to be a photograph. If I had to guess whose bed it was I would say it was James’ seeing as it had all sorts of Quidditch type stuff surrounding it and was very messy.

That would mean the one next to it would be Sirius’. The hair product on the nightstand gave it away. On the other side of the room were two beds that were obviously Remus and Peters. The one that was closest to the bathroom had to be Remus’. It was neat and tidy but had a cozy look to it. I had to restrain myself from stealing his pillow or something.

That wasn’t weird right?

Peter’s bed was surrounded by sweet wrappers and was nearly as messy as James’ area. I had the urge to clean up their whole dorm.

Dear Merlin. I have turned into my mother.

Once Alice saw that it was only us she said, “Merlin! You two nearly killed me! I thought you were the Marauders!”

“Never mind that Alice, we need to get out of here!” Lily said in a crazed sort of way with a grin. She was enjoying this whole undercover mission thing way too much.

We had all turned to flee the scene when we heard footsteps on the stairs. We stopped and looked at each other with wide eyes.

That is it. They have found us. They are going to be so angry that we have been in their room. Why did I let Lily talk me into this!?

Because I am an idiot.

“Quick! Under the beds!” Alice said in a whisper and we all stumbled towards a bed. I found myself crawling under what I guessed was Remus’ bed. Alice was under Sirius’ bed and Lily was fighting her way under James’ mess of a bed.

We had just enough time to quietly shove ourselves into our hiding spots before someone threw open the door leading into the dorm. I watched as four sets of feet walked into the room. I had to stifle a giggle as I heard Sirius ranting about his hair and how his pants were now wet.

“Calm down mate, it is just a bit of water!” James’ voice said teasingly. Remus and Peter were openly laughing. From this side of the room I could see Lily lying on her stomach with her fist in her mouth trying not to laugh and Alice looking confused as to what had happened. I just grinned at her and mouthed ‘tell you later.’

It seemed like ten years before Sirius finally had a shower and deemed his hair fixed, all the while the other three boys joked around and lounged on their beds. I had been right when I guessed this was Remus’ bed. I could hear his voice coming from directly above me. I had a bit of a dither spaz when I realised that I was under Remus Lupin’s bed and he was currently lying on it. I managed to control myself though. I’m just as amazed as you are.

I thanked Merlin that Remus was not that heavy and therefore did not squash me when he sat on his bed. I wish I could say the same for Lily. James is on the muscular side after his years of Quidditch.

Speaking of Quidditch, that is all the boys bloody talked about! Is our team strong enough this year? How many practices should we have? How do we stop Sirius from hitting people with his beaters bat? On and on they went. And when I say ‘they’ I really mean James.

Aren’t boys supposed to talk about what girls they liked or whatever?

Though if Remus said he liked someone who was not me I may have done something stupid. Like leap out from under his bed and beg him to like me instead.

I wouldn’t be surprised at myself, which is the scary part.

Eventually Remus said, “Come on Padfoot we are going to be late to Charms!” and he got off his bed. I heard Sirius grumbling but joined the other three pairs of feet going out the door and down the stairs.

Lily, Alice and I all rolled out from under the beds and just stared at each other before saying, “Oh my god!” We had actually pulled that off! We haven’t been caught! We are the masters at hiding!

Just when we were about to break out into a celebratory dance we heard, “I’ll be back in a minute! I left something in our room!”

Oh Merlin. It was Remus. And he was heading back up here!

Looking at each other in panic, knowing we didn’t have time to dive back under the bed, we turned and made a mad dash for the bathroom.

That is how we found ourselves hiding in the Marauders bathroom.

We heard the door open and there was a bit of shuffling of stuff. Remus was obviously looking for whatever he had forgotten. We all held our breath, praying to whoever was up there that whatever he was after was not in the bathroom. After a painful minute we heard his retreating footsteps and the door slam shut.

We let out a collective sigh of relief. We waited a few minutes to make sure that none of them were going to make a surprise attack before we snuck out of the bathroom and over to the door. I pressed my ear against the door and declared it safe to leave.

We all ran down the stairs and past the still empty common room and up to our own room. Safely in our dorm Lily and I turned to Alice with excited grins.

“Well? What did you find?!” Lily asked looking at Alice expectantly.

“Oh right!” Alice said as if only remembering why she had been in the Marauders room in the first place. “Look at this!” she said and held out the photograph I had seen her clutching earlier.

Lily and I looked closely at the photo.

I have no words.

Lily has no words.

Alice is laughing like a crazy person.

I rapidly blinked my eyes to make sure what I was seeing was actually there.

It was.

Why in the WORLD would James, Sirius, Remus and Peter dress up as girls, (skirts, dresses, makeup, the works) and then take a photo?! Why would they keep evidence of it?! Why would James keep it near his bed?!

Why?!

It is bloody funny though.

* * *

It roughly took us all a million and ten years to stop crying with laughter. By that time we had all decided that Peter looked the best in his frilly pink dress with so much makeup on that he even gave Demelza a run for her money, we were nearly late for charms.

We all slipped into the full classroom just as Professor Flitwick was about to start today’s lesson. He gave us a bit of a disapproving look but didn’t say anything. I think that’s largely got to do with the fact that we were with Lily. Lily could come to class two years late and she wouldn’t get in trouble.

As Flitwick turned around and started writing on the board about confundus charms, Lily, Alice and I quickly scanned the room for free seats.

With a wink Alice went off to sit next to Frank Longbottom who looked as equally thrilled as she did. Lily quickly sat down in the closest vacant seat which happened to be next to a disgusted looking Slytherin girl. Lily ignored her and began taking notes immediately.

So that left me.

Oh the choices.

Choice number one: Germy Jamie.

No.

Choice number two: A seemingly sweet Hufflepuff girl named Amanda. She growled at me.

No.

Choice number three: The free seat next to Remus.

YES FREAKING PLEASE!

Trying to contain my excitement, I tried to casually walk over to where he was sitting and sat down next to him. Excellent work today brain! We are on a roll!

Remus smiled at me as I sat down. If that wasn't enough to make me swoon he leaned in close to my ear and whispered so Professor Flitwick wouldn't hear, "That was brilliant what you did! It's not very often someone gets the better of Sirius!"

Oh dear. I may topple out of my seat. I could feel his warm breath on my neck and all brain function I had screeched to a halt.

I managed to make some sort of laugh/troll grunt in response. Great. Excellent.

Maybe he likes girls with troll brains?

What am I talking about, of course he doesn't!

He chuckled quietly anyway and leaned away having not commented on my lack of response.

As I was trying to concentrate on what Flitwick was writing on the board, in hopes of clearing my head, Sirius caught my eye. He was sitting in front of Remus and I with James who was watching Lily and the Slytherin girl with squinted eyes. I'm sure if the Slytherin girl so much as breathed on Lily, James would hurl himself across the room to rescue her.

Sirius however was glaring at me.

I didn't know if I wanted to giggle like a mad woman or cringe away. I sort of did both by accident.

I'm sure it was very attractive and now all the boys want me.

...

NOT!

Sirius quirked his eyebrow at my expression before rolling his eyes and turning back to Flitwick who had just started to say,

"Alright class! I want you all to get into pairs, who you are sitting with should be fine. Find a nice clear space and practice your confundus charms, non-verbally of course!"he squeaked and smiled at us pleasantly.

A lot of the class groaned as non-verbal spells were difficult and no one really wanted to get hit with a confundus charm.

I on the other hand was happy. Not only because I am quite good at non-verbal spells, but also because I got to be partnered with Remus again.

No big deal.

Whatever.

...

Shutup.

"Shall we get started?" Remus asked, getting up and moving to an empty corner of the room.

I followed him and said with the most innocent look that I could manage, "Only if you go easy on me."

* * *

"You are a sneaky one!" Remus said with a mock frown on his face as we walked out of the Charms classroom with the rest of the still slightly confused class.

I faked shock while asking, "What are you talking about?"

"You asked me to go easy on you when it should have been you going easy on me!" he said with grin. "I didn't know you were so good with non-verbal spells."

I just shrugged and said, "I had a lot of time to practice I guess."

Remus looked thoughtful before Sirius came out of no where, his glare back on his face.

"Uhh... hey Sirius," I said a bit tentatively.

He did not look pleased.

"You're looking, erm, dry," I tried to say pleasantly. It came out more taunting than pleasant and Sirius, mishearing, huffed and stalked off towards the end of the corridor.

Well then. That went well.

NOT.

I am still alive though so that is a plus. On the other hand Sirius is angry with me. Great.

Remus, having noticed my worried expression, said comfortingly "Don't worry about him Shaylee. He will come around in no time," He gently squeezed my shoulder and I just about fell into a suit of Armour.

I smiled at him in thanks and before I could think of something to say, Aiden had appeared at my shoulder. The tension in the corridor increased but only Remus, Aiden and I seemed to notice. Remus was looking at Aiden over my head with a stoney face but didn't say anything. Aiden didn't try very hard to hide his glare.

Trying to diffuse the situation, I said in my most cheerful voice, "Hi Aiden! How did you go with the charm? I bet you had fun being partnered with Severus!" I was rambling and I had some sort of deranged happy grin on my face. Knowing that I was trying to hard, Aiden rolled his eyes but smirked slightly.

"Yeah it was alright I guess," he said, now ignoring Remus. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked, lightly grabbing my arm so as to pull me away.

I glanced quickly at Remus, in time to see him frown. Seeing me looking, he strained a smile and said, "I'll save you a seat in Defense, yeah?"

Choosing to ignore our little exchange and turning his back on Remus' retreating figure, Aiden turned so he was standing in front of me.

He smiled at me. Ahhh there's my Aiden. He is very good looking. I wish he would stop that, it is very distracting.

"So, what did you want?" I asked as I returned his smile.

"Just wanted to make sure we are still meeting tonight. Thought maybe you had gotten a better offer," he joked but I could tell he meant it.

I rolled my eyes and linked my arm with his and began walking towards the Defense classroom. I tried to ignore the reproachful looks of many girls as we passed them.

Merlin, I'm sure one of these days I will be killed by a crazed jealous girl. Probably Demelza or one of the Em and Em's. Probably both.

"Well the Mister of Magic did owl me and wanted to know if I would like to take a spin on his broomstick," I started, trying to keep a straight face, "But for you, I think I will say no. But only for you!" I said jokingly.

Aiden smiled down at me before saying sarcastically, "Ha ha, very funny!"

"I know, I am hilarious. About time someone realised!" I said and poked my tongue out at him. We carried on our light hearted banter until we reached the Defense classroom. I told Aiden I would definitely be meeting him tonight before giving him a small wave as he went off to sit next to a pretty Slytherin girl.

Looking around the room expectantly I saw Remus smiling at me from one of the desks near the window. Like always, Sirius and James were sitting at the desk in front. James grinned at me. He jerked his head towards Sirius, who was sulking and wouldn't look at me, and gave me a thumbs up. I grinned back at him as I sat down next to Remus.

I couldn't help but feel as if Remus was scanning me for something. Was he making sure I was alright after my conversation with Aiden? Merlin if he was I am going to insist he marry me this instant for being ridiculously sweet.

But he couldn't be.

So instead I asked him, "Where's Peter?"

Remus gave a snort of laughter and pointed towards the front of room. There was Peter sitting with Crazy Maisy. Aww they totally love each other! I am the master at match making, even it was by accident.

* * *

As the last class of the day finished, Lily, Alice and I made our way to the great hall for dinner. We got there early and sat away from the rest of the other students eager for dinner.

“You didn't say anything about the photo to the Marauders did you?” Lily asked me in a low voice from across the table.

“No,” I said trying hard not to giggle at the thought of the picture which was now tucked safely inside Remus' charms book that was still under my pillow. Yeah, yeah, shutup. “It was hard not to though. Every time I looked at Peter I wanted to cry with laughter!”

The girls giggled and nodded in agreement before Lily went on to say, “We have to wait for the right time to reveal that we have it. Hopefully they don't notice it is gone.”

Before long the hall had filled up with hungry teenagers, the Marauder’s included. As they sauntered into the great hall, pretty much everyone stared at them. The boy's, seemingly used to this sort of thing, ignored everyone and continued to talk amongst themselves.

As they neared the Gryffindor table, James scanned the length of the table for someone. Well of course he was looking for Lily, I mean even she knew that because she ducked her head and busied herself with looking through her bag.

Smiling a little mischievously at Alice who grinned, I waved to the boy's and they all smiled and made their way towards us. Well all of them smiled except Sirius. But he followed anyway.

Lily looked up at me in alarm when she saw me waving to them and gave me her 'I'm-going-to-kill-you' look.

God, I am enjoying this way too much. Maybe I should be in Slytherin?

No.

James plopped down next to a red faced Lily who was trying to act normal. Peter sat next to James and started to pile his plate with food.

As Alice was sitting on my right, Remus sat down on my left with Sirius next to him.

God Remus smells nice. How does he do this to me? The mere smell of him makes me into the idiot melting girl from Meltington.

Dinner, thankfully, passed without too much embarrassment on my part which was a nice change. We all joked and laughed and James and Lily were getting on so well that other students were sending them weird looks. Which is understandable because usually by now Lily would be hurling hexes at James.

Guess there really are such things as miracles. Now if only Merlin would grant mine and have Remus confess his undying love for me...

...

Nope, didn't happen.

Though, Remus had been in a very cheerful mood all day which was good enough for me for now.

By the time we had all wandered back up to our common room we were all in high spirits and I thought it a good time to make Sirius talk to me again.

All through dinner he had been fine with everyone else, laughing and talking to everyone.

Except me.

Every time I tried to ask him a question or would try and catch his eyes he would ignore me! I hated it. I have had enough of being ignored by people for a life time.

So as the rest of the gang all climbed through the portrait hole, I seized my moment and grabbed his hand and tugged him back out through the portrait hole and into the corridor.

“Oi!” He exclaimed as I tugged on his hand a little too hard and he nearly tripped. The others all turned around at the sound of his voice and looked at us with raised eyebrows.

I swung shut the portrait of the fat lady while saying, “Nothing to see here!”

Sirius let out a huff of irritation and took a few steps away so his back was facing me.

Sighing, I gently placed my hand on his shoulder. He didn't turn around. Merlin this is worse than I thought! What if he really hates me! I mean I did push him into the lake after all. But he didn't drown or anything. Just got a bit... wet.

“Sirius...” I said in my most soothing voice. “I'm sorry I pushed you into the lake!”

He grunted in response. Great, now he is trying to communicate in troll. I don't know troll! I mean I sometimes sound like I have troll ancestry but I don't really. Well I hope not.

God, what do I do now? I've said sorry and he grunted. He won't turn around and look at me so I can't even use my pouty face. I could be doing some sort of amazing jig right behind his back and he wouldn't know!

Do you think doing a jig would work?

Just as I was about to break out into dance, he turned around. I was so surprised by his sudden movement that I nearly fell over backwards. He just smirked at me.

Stupid Sirius, always smirking and being... a smirker! I hate him!

But then his smirk turned into a soft smile and he said, “Alright, I think you have suffered enough. I forgive you.”

Oh how could I ever hate him. I hate him for not being able to hate him. Drats.

Grinning happily I gave him a somewhat awkward hug. He was momentarily surprised before he wrapped his arms around my waist in return.

At that moment the portrait swung open and Sirius and I both turned our heads in its direction, still in our friendly embrace.

Standing in the doorway was James and, good Merlin, Remus. They both had shared looks of surprise on their faces.

“Er, we came because there was a lack of shouting and had thought Shaylee had done you in quietly Padfoot... But I guess we were wrong.” James said with a sly grin on his face.

I jumped away from Sirius like he had dragon pox at the sight of Remus' face. He looked... confused? A little hurt even?

Oh I don't know.

But Merlin, why, oh why, oh why do you always have Remus see me in some flirty position with Sirius?! I want him to think I am available in case one day he loses his head and thinks he likes me!

It could happen okay!

Sirius, looking a little hurt at my sudden move away, recovered quickly and leaned back casually against the banister. “Shaylee was just saying sorry,” he said and smiled at me.

Remus and James seemed unconvinced and Remus said, “We didn't mean to interrupt. Come on Prongs, let's leave them to it.” He said it in a normal sort of way and my heart sank.

Okay so maybe I had gotten my hopes up that Remus would be wildly jealous or something, especially after I saw what I thought was a look of hurt when he saw us. But obviously not. He doesn't care.

Bloody fantastic.

Needing to get out of there so that I didn't show my disappointment, I said hurriedly, “No! You guys stay, I have to go meet someone anyway!” with a fake smile.

“Who?” All three boys asked at the same time.

“None of your business!” I snapped before I could stop myself. I was mad at myself for getting my hopes up over something stupid. Still, I guess I shouldn't take it out on the boys.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so rude. I've got to go,” I said with a small apologetic smile before I hurried away towards the library, leaving three very confused boys behind.

A/N:Thank you everyone so much for reading! All of your reviews are so sweet and I really appreciate every single one. So thank you! Let me know what you thought of Part 2 of Lily's idea. :D

I puffed and panted into the library twenty minutes after I left the Marauder’s at the common room. I was so busy stomping my way to the library that I didn't realise until it was too late that the staircase was switching. I ended up on the fifth floor when I needed to be on the second.

Now as I have said, I’m not that great when it comes to fitness. In fact, I would say I am crap. And you would agree. Merlin himself agrees.

When I realised how far away from the library I was and how Aiden might think I was standing him up, I may have thrown a small tantrum.

Only a small one!

It involved me kicking a suit of armor, only for it to chase me down the hallway for a bit while I ran screaming in terror.

Like I said, only a small tantrum.

Anyway, by the time I made it to the library I was late. And red. VERY red. Like tomato girl red. Great.

I began looking around the quite busy library, hoping that Aiden hadn’t decided that I was a terrible friend who had decided not to show up. Just as I was about to give up hope I found his messy dark brown hair at a table in one of the far corners.

When I say I found his brown hair I hope you know that his head, and the rest of his body for that matter, was attached to it.

Good.

I hurried over to him while willing my red face to de-red itself. I don't think it is working. Not surprising, it never does. Sigh.

Aiden was busy reading his charms textbook as I slipped into the chair next to him. “Hey Aiden!” I said cheerfully.

He jumped at the sound of my voice and looked momentarily surprised. Then he looked pissed. Angry, not drunk that is. I wish he was drunk then maybe he wouldn't be mad at me for nearly ditching him by accident. Stupid stairs!

“Hey,” he said flatly before returning to his book.

Great. Bloody great. I just get Sirius to take his grumpy pants off, (wink wink), just for Aiden to put them on! These boys are more moody than girls I tell you!

“Aiden,” I say in a soft 'I'm sorry' voice.

Ignored.

“Aiiiiiden” I whine in a 'don't ignore me' voice.

Ignored.

“AIDEN!” I practically shout in my 'practically shouting' voice.

A loud chorus of “SHHH!” is hissed at me from various students.

“Oh SHHH yourselves!” I snap while waving around my index finger in some crazy shushing motion.

Everyone looked quite alarmed before turning back to their studies. Rolling my eyes at them I slowly turned to look at Aiden.

He was looking at me with a small smile and I nearly swooned off my seat.

Ohhh he is so good looking! He has this dark hair that is messy but in a sexy sort of way. These amazing green eyes that can one minute be all dark and brooding and the next they are all soft and caring. Not to mention he has the whole bad boy Slytherin thing going on. Plus he seems to have forgiven me!

“Do you know you are terribly hard to stay mad at?” he asked, his small smile turning into his full grin and I swooned all over again.

Don't get me wrong, Remus is still the most swoon worthy guy I have ever seen. But Aiden is definitely in the top three. Sirius is the other one. But we won't ever tell anyone that. His head is big enough already.

I shrugged nonchalantly and said, “What can I say? It's a skill,” before laughing at Aiden's snort of laughter.

“Sorry I'm late. The stairs changed on me and there was this whole thing with a suit of armor...” I involuntarily shuddered at the memory, “But I made it! I'm sorry if I made you think I wasn't coming,” I patted his hand comfortingly. Aiden looked down quickly at my hand on his and I could have sworn I saw him smile. Feeling a little weird, and not knowing why, I pulled my hand away.

“It's okay I guess. I got a head start on that essay Flitwick wanted us to write anyway. Have you started yours?” Aiden asked, having looked up when I took my hand away.

“Not yet,” I said a little gloomily. Homework always made me sleepy. And bored. And annoyed.

“Want to work on it together?” Aiden asked sweetly.

I smiled at him and said, “Sure! Only if we can do the potions essay as well. I was supposed to do it the other night but I was... distracted,” I said smiling at the memory of our girl chat.

* * *

“The library will be closing in five minutes!” said the librarian.

“Wow is it already nine thirty?” I asked Aiden who also looked surprised that two hours had flown by. It was so easy to talk to Aiden.

“Guess we had better go then,” Aiden said, looking a little disappointed. We slowly packed up our finished essay's and made our way out of the library with the other students.

Walking slowly behind everyone else, Aiden continued to make fun of me. He seemed to do this a lot but not in a mean way.

I think.

“Okay, fine! I agree that it is weird to like cockroach clusters! Happy?” I asked, finally giving up and admitting that they weren't the most popular sweet.

“Very. I always win,” Aiden said with a smug look on his face. I just rolled my eyes at him.

I realised just how slow we were walking when we found ourselves at the end of the empty corridor, the other students from the library having already gone off towards their common rooms.

“This is where we part I guess,” I said to Aiden, looking up the flight of stairs that I would have to take to take me towards Gryffindor tower. Why exactly I have to live in a tower is beyond me. I mean do you know how many stairs that is? A lot is the answer.

“Shaylee... There is something I have been meaning to ask you...” Aiden said rather awkwardly.

Uh oh. What does he want to ask? God I bet it is going to be 'Why am I friends with you?!' or 'Why are you such a weirdo?' Just as I was about to shout at him, 'I can't help it okay!' he said something completely different.

“Do you... I mean... Are you like... with Sirius?” Aiden asked while looking down at the ground.

I looked at him like he had spontaneously grown horns.

What? What?! And also, WHAT?!

“What?!” I asked, completely surprised.

He looked at me for a second before looking back at his shoes. “I just mean he always has his arm around you and you always hang out with him now...” he somewhat mumbled.

I continued to stare at him like he was crazy before I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it! I mean, me with Sirius? No way! He is good looking and an amazing friend but I just can't see us ever happening. Also because I think me going out with Remus' best mate would send Remus the wrong 'I'm available' signal.

“I'll take that as a no then,” Aiden said rather happily.

“That is a definite no,” I said smiling at Aiden.

“And that's the same for Lupin then?”

I suddenly froze and nearly fell over. Oh Merlin, why! What am I meant to say to that?

It will not be, 'We are not dating but if he asked me I would run through the Great Hall screaming in delight'.

“No! I mean, no we are not. We are all just friends,” I said quickly while trying to act normal. “Friends who do friendly things like... be friends...” Oh god! Shut up mouth! Before I could stop myself I asked, “Why do you ask?”

Aiden looked at me wide eyed for a split second before his normal calm look returned. What was that all about?

“I was just, you know, wondering if my friend was dating anyone, so I know who to hex if they hurt you!” Aiden said jokingly and wrapped his arm around my shoulder in a side-ways hug.

“My hero!” I laughed while wrapping my arm around his waist.

At that moment Lily and James decided to round the corner. They were all smiling and laughing. Together! Not shouting and hexing each other but SMILING and LAUGHING. And they were alone. Very suspicious.

When they saw us they stopped their suspicious smiling and laughing and looked a little startled to see Aiden and I.

“Uh, hey Shaylee,” Lily said looking at me with raised eyebrows. “And hey Aiden,” she then looked at our arms around each other. James was also looking with a rather confused look on his face. Ohhh no. This is the second time tonight that James has seen me with a guy. He is going to think I am some sort of tart who just flings herself at boys! But I am not! I barely know how to talk to boys!

“Hey guys,” I try to say with a calm voice. I tried to subtly move away from Aiden. “What are you guys doing here?” I asked.

“Prefect patrols,” James answered. “What are you two doing here?” He asked.

“Just having a casual game of Quidditch,” I joked, trying not to seem awkward.

James and Lily laughed but Aiden seemed a little offended.

“We were hanging out actually,” Aiden said with a little bit of an edge.

James looked a bit affronted at first at Aiden's tone and I knew James wanted to bite back a remark but he shrugged and said, “Cool. You had better get back to your common room before curfew, wouldn't want to have to give you a detention,”

Aiden gave James the look of death and they had a sort of mini staring contest. Oh lord, what if they have a throw down?! I don't even know what a throw down is but I am sure it is not good.

Deciding to break up their whole staring thing they had going on, I quickly said, “Wow I am tired!” I fake-yawned very badly. “Better be off to bed! Night Aiden, see you!” I waved like a crazy person at Aiden who looked confused before he turned and walked off in the opposite direction.

He didn't even say good night! He definitely has his grumpy pants on. Great.

Not wanting to give Lily or James the chance to question me, I gave them a quick wave before I nearly ran up the stairs.

What is going on? Did Aiden really think I was going out with Sirius? Or Remus? Ha, I wish!

I do actually. Shut up.

I know one thing for sure, I have to subtly talk to James and make sure he knows I am not some floozy. Just someone who gets hugged a lot... At the wrong moment.

* * *

Ten years later I finally reached the common room. Okay, okay so it wasn't exactly ten years, more like ten minutes. But it bloody felt like ten years! I think I might have to take a crack at exercising again. God, I already feel the pain.

As I climbed through the portrait hole I ran into something quite hard. I stumbled backwards and was just about to topple over and embarrass myself further when a pair of hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me forwards. With an 'OOF' I fell into the person in front of me and we both went toppling to the ground.

Well this is sort of nice. I am pressed against someone's chest while I sort of lay on top of them. This isn't awkward at all. NOT!

They do smell really nice though. Wait a minute... I know that smell... Remus!

I slowly looked up and saw Remus smiling down at me. Oh Merlin, is this really happening? Has Remus really saved me from falling over and I am now laying on top of him?!

Well, is it?!

It is.

Oh my God. What do I do? Do I leap away from him like some demented leaping thing? Knowing my luck I will trip over my feet mid-leap and crash into the sofa. Maybe I could just sort of roll off of him? He is so comfy though.... Wait what am I doing?! Nothing is the answer and Remus is still smiling at me. I'm melting! My legs have gone to jelly and I don't think I will ever be able to walk again.

Ohhh great. Now I can hear Sirius laughing. Fabulous. I can just imagine how this would have all looked. Ridiculous I suspect. Now all I need is for James to walk in and see me in another suspicious position and my life will be over. Thank god he is on prefect du-

He has just walked through the portrait hole with Lily. He is staring at me. Lily is staring at me. I think Remus is staring at me also because I am still on top of him. Great. Just great. Get off him you fool!

I tried, and failed, to get off of Remus in a graceful fashion. It was less graceful and more bumbling idiot. I was saying stupid things like, “I am so sorry Remus! I didn't see you! And then I lost my balance and-” while I got to my feet and fixed my skirt.

I caught sight of James and practically shouted, “It's not what it looks like!”

He looked at me with raised eyebrows. I know what those eyebrows were saying. It is like that crap old saying, 'Eyebrows say a thousand words' or whatever it is.

They were saying, 'Shaylee I think you are the tartiest of tarts and should be locked away so you can not attack any more boys.' That is what they said. Trust me.

“Here mate,” Sirius said as he held out his hand for Remus to help him up. I forgot to help him up! My face was so red by now that I just wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

“I'm sorry!” I said again to Remus. He looked at me and smiled his lovely smile. He isn't even angry with me! Even after I pretty much squashed him. Is it possible to like him even more?

It is.

“It's okay, I was trying to save you from falling over but it didn't go quite to plan,” he laughed and smoothed out his shirt.

I had to control my drool.

“I don't even want to know!” James said with a smirk as he walked past me and flopped into the closest armchair. Peter, who I just noticed, was sitting next to James and he smirked along with him.

“I don't think I do either,” Lily said and she winked at me. I gave her a small smile and telepathically told her I would tell her everything later. I don't think she got my message. Oh well.

Remus and Sirius took up their seats next to their two friends and James asked, “Have you girl's done that Charms essay yet?”

Lily said she hadn't finished hers. I didn't say anything because I was hoping that he would invite us to sit with them.

“Did you want to do the essay together?” James asked us both with a hopeful smile. Yes, yes and yes!

I didn't shout out YES! Like I was in my head. Instead I shrugged in a really casual way and said “Sure,” and Lily did the same. We are as cool as two cucumbers. Cooler even.

The four boys smiled at us and got their stuff out of their bags. Lily and I sat down. I may have sort of shoved Lily in James' direction so she had no choice but to sit next to him. She can thank me later. I casually sat in between Remus and Sirius. They didn't seem to mind so I got comfy by wiggling around to find the comfiest position. They both looked at me before they burst out laughing.

What! I just want to be comfy. Am I the only one who does that? Whatever. I am nice and snugly now in the middle of two fit boys. Maybe my life isn't so terrible after all.

“So, does anyone have a clue what this essay is supposed to be about?” Peter asked while looking down at his unrolled parchment as if hoping words would magically appear.

“Non-verbal spells and we are supposed to describe a real life situation in which they would be useful. I chose a surprise attack on your neighbour,” I said without really thinking.

“I thought you said you hadn't done yours yet,” Sirius said with a suspicious eyebrow raise.

“Noooo, Lily said she hadn't done hers. I finished mine earlier with...” I trailed off. Bugger, I didn't mean to tell them I had been with Aiden.

Though James had seen us earlier so it isn't like the cat is still in the bag. They were all looking at me expectantly. Well Remus, Sirius and Peter were. James and Lily were smirking at my discomfort. They really do belong together those two. They are both horrible friends!

“With who?” Sirius asked.

“With Aiden...” I pretty much mumbled in the hopes they wouldn't hear me and would suddenly lose interest.

Didn't happen.

“Aiden? You mean that McKinnen bloke from Slytherin?” Sirius asked in slight outrage.

Automatically getting defensive I said, “Yes him! So what if I was?”

Sirius opened his mouth to say something but closed it again when Remus elbowed him in the stomach. What was all that about?!

I looked at Remus questioningly. He sighed and said, “So he doesn't say anything to make you mad at him again.”

Well then.

Not really knowing what to say I just smiled at Remus before frowning at Sirius.

“I know you don't like him but he is my friend. We did our essay's together in the library and he didn't try to convert me to Slytherin-ism or anything,” I joked.

“Sure that's all you did,” James fake-coughed under his breath.

Everyone turned to look at James. I wanted to murder him. I am going to hurl myself across this table and bloody kill him.

“What do you mean?” Peter asked while looking from James to me then to Sirius and Remus.

James didn't say anything but was smirking at me. When he saw the look on my face his smirk dropped quickly. He began to look a little worried. I narrowed my eyes. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

I hate James Potter.

We stared at each other. Well I say stare but I was flat out glaring at him. I can't believe he said that! He is so annoying! Aiden and I were just hanging out and he just so happened to see us sharing a friendly hug. I glared harder and mentally willed to make his hair catch fire or something. It didn't work but I am sure I looked scary in a mentally ill way. Eventually he looked away. AHA! I win!

I still hate him.

Everyone was looking from me to James and back again. Sirius looked a little shocked and asked, “Are you going out with that prat- I mean McKinnen?”

Oh my God. This is a nightmare surely. First Aiden asks if I am dating Sirius and Remus. And now Sirius is asking if I'm dating Aiden! What do they think I am? Some sort of super tart?! Three boys sounds like a lot of work. I just sat there and opened and closed my mouth like a deranged goldfish, completely lost for words.

Remus looked at me and quickly looked away before saying, “Uhh, so what are you going to write your essay about Sirius?” In an obvious attempt to defuse the tension and break the awkward silence.

Sirius ignored Remus and continued to look at me expectantly. Why does he even care! Why does anyone care?! No one has ever cared before and now everyone wants to know and I don't know what to do! Help?

“Heeeelloooo earth to Shaylee!” Sirius said and waved his hand in front of my face. It snapped me out of my inner panic and I slapped his hand away.

“No I am not dating Aiden okay! I'm not dating anyone! I am dateless!” I suddenly said and instantly wanted to take it back.

Way to make myself sound like a dateless loser.

Great.

Everyone stared at me for a second before they all cracked up laughing. Why are they laughing?!

Once they had all stopped laughing (meanly) at me Sirius said, “Well that's good to know. Means we don't have to hex him!”

I looked at him for a second before I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

Boys! That is pretty much what Aiden had said. They are obsessed with hexing people. Weird.

After that everyone relaxed and began a conversation amongst themselves, though no one dared to bring the topic of Aiden back up which I was grateful for.

I tried to join in the conversation as normally as I could but I kept catching Remus and Sirius glancing at me. Stop it! I didn't shout that at them because I don't want them to think I am some crazy shouting type girl. I did silently curse James though. It made me feel a little bit better.

An hour passed and everyone had finished their essay's except for Peter. Remus threw down his quill onto the table and stretched out his arms over his head. Ohhh my. I may have snuck a little peek... Okay you got me! I sort of stared. But you would have too!

I quickly looked away pretty sure no one had seen me. That is until I looked towards Lily who was still sitting next to James.

James was looking at me with his stupid raised eyebrows again. He had seen me! He started smirking again.

“Don't smirk at me you... you... smirker!” I shouted at him, my anger finally coming out. I wish I had thought of a better insult than smirker. It was the best I could do okay!

James opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off.

“Don't even try it James Potter. You have said enough tonight!” I slammed my book on the table and grabbed my bag. “I'm going to bed,” I said to Lily, not even looking at James who was looking shocked at my outburst.

“Shaylee...” Lily tried to say but I ignored her and stomped off to bed.

Stupid James Potter and his stupid big mouth. He is so stupid! UGH!

* * *

The next day I tried to avoid three things.

1. James Potter. Anything and everything to do with him from his name to sightings of him.

2. Conversations about Aiden.

3. Situations in which I could embarrass myself.

I have come to the conclusion that I am very crap at avoiding things.

The first thing Lily asked me in the morning involved two of the 'Forbidden Three'. She had caught me off guard while I was hopping around our dorm room trying to pull my sock on. Alice had left ages ago so she could, 'casually bump into Frank'. Demelza was in the shower singing horribly. Honestly, she makes my ears cry.

“So you never did tell me what happened last night with you and Aiden. When James and I walked in on you two you looked pretty chummy,” Lily said with a waggle of her eyebrows.

I froze mid-hop with my sock half on and stared at her.

“Nothing happened!” I exclaimed in a low whisper. “We were just hanging out like two friends would.”

“But he had his arm around you,” Lily whispered back.

“Yeah, so? I didn't know putting your arm around someone instantly meant you were madly in love with them!” I pulled my sock on properly and straightened up. “Now can we drop it?”

“Wait, why are we whispering?” Lily asked in her normal voice, only just realising we had been whispering for the better part of the conversation.

I shrugged. “I don't know, you started it,” I said and grabbed my bag.

“I did not! You did!” Lily said indignantly.

“No, I think you will find that you did,” I said and gave her a sly grin. Further conversation of Aiden and/or James Potter successfully diverted!

“What? No you did!”

Lily and I continued our little argument downstairs and into the common room where we nearly ran into the Marauder’s. They were at the foot of the girls staircase and looked as if they were waiting for someone. At the sight of Remus my heart gave a little leap. Though, he was looking a little paler than normal and he had the beginnings of bags around his eyes. Hmm, I hope he isn't getting sick!

Though I would be happy to look after him...

Stop it brain!

“Shaylee, I wanted to talk to you...” James said while he stared down at his shoes.

My things to avoid list is not doing so great at the moment.

Still angry at him from last night I ignored him and tried to push past him. Well I tried. He is a very solid and stubborn bloke. Not to mention Sirius was on his left side while Remus was on his right, both with their arms crossed and grinning down at me.

“What, are you two like his bodyguards or something?” I asked with one hand on hip, trying not to smile at them.

“I guess you could call us that,” Sirius said and flexed his muscles. I saw a passing fourth year girl, who was so busy checking out Sirius, accidentally run into a wall.

“James wants us to make sure you hear out his apology,” Remus said with a heart stopping smile.

I wanted to fling myself at him and say 'I'd listen to anything for you Remus!' but I restrained myself. Just.

Instead I folded my arms and stared at James until he looked up at me. Ooooh no. He is looking all sad and sorry! He has a pouting lip! How am I supposed to stay mad at that!

“I'm sorry for taking it too far last night Shaylee. I explained to everyone once you left that nothing was going on and I was being a stupid prat,” James said with such sincerity that I instantly forgave him.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for the pouty face.

A/N: You might be happy to know that the next chapter is already written. Shocked? You're not the only one. :P

Thank you so much for reading! And again, thank you for all of the amazing reviews! I love them and they get me in the mood to write. So thank yoooou! xo

After James' apology the rest of the day passed rather pleasantly. I got to cross 'avoid James' off my to avoid list. Which I was quite happy about because James really isn't a bad bloke. Actually he was really lovely to both Lily and I all day. I think it was half to make it up to me and half to impress Lily.

It worked.

Don't tell him I said that.

By the afternoon no one was really in the mood to do any work as it was Friday and the weekend was on everyone's mind. Our Muggle Studies professor gave a defeated sigh and let us spend the last half an hour of our last class for the day playing games.

“But it has to be a muggle game!” he called over the cheers of students, which quickly turned into groans.

I was sitting with Remus at our usual table. Yes, I did say OUR usual table. In shock? Me too.

James and Sirius turned around from their desk in front of ours and brought their chairs so they could join our table.

“Alright Moony, what game are we going to play?” Sirius asked looking expectantly at Remus. James and I did the same.

“Why are you all looking at me?” Remus asked looking a little uncomfortable.

“Well we are supposed to play a muggle game and I don't know any. Do you Prongs?” Sirius looked at James, doubtful.

“Err, does exploding snap count?” James asked.

“As normal muggle playing cards don't usually explode randomly... I would have to say no,” Remus said smiling at his friend who rolled his eyes.

In the end we were all saved by Lily who pulled up a chair next to James, much to his delight. She had a muggle board game with her called Cluedo which she had gotten from the store cupboard. If only we had thought to look there...

“Where's Alice?” I asked Lily as she pulled the game out of its box and began setting up the pieces.

She rolled her eyes and said with a smirk, “She ditched me for Frank,” She jerked her head in the direction of the back of the classroom. I smiled as I saw Alice giggling and obviously flirting with Frank. Cute!

“Alice likes Frank Longbottom?” James asked and all the boys looked surprised.

“Boys, don't notice a bloody thing,” Lily said to me and grinned.

“Don't you dare say anything,” I said to James but made sure Sirius and Remus also got the message. They all promised not to.

“So how do we play?” I asked Lily, picking up one of the motionless game pieces.

Lily explained the rules of Cluedo. I won't go into detail but I will say this. You are supposed to find out who the murderer is, what weapon they used and what room the murder took place. Silly if you ask me. I mean the pieces don’t even move! They just sit there doing nothing. What fun! Not!

The minute we started playing however everyone became very suspicious of everyone else. We were all shouting at each other about 'How could you murder Mrs. Peacock!' and such.

Sirius, who had really gotten into the game, finally shouted, “I have it! It was Colonel Mustard in the dining room with a candle stick!”

We all stared at him.

“No way! It was obviously Miss Scarlet in the library with the dagger! Duh!” James argued.

Lily picked up the envelope and said, “Let's see shall we? Shaylee would you like to do the honors?”

I opened the envelope knowing that both of the boys were wrong. I mean it was Mrs. White for sure, she just looks shady.

“Okay, so it was Professor Plum in the Study with the lead pipe!” I said over the loud disappointed groans of James and Sirius.

“I knew it! I win!” Lily exclaimed and threw down her cards. She even did a little victory dance in her chair. James just about had to wipe his drool off his face.

“Stupid game,” Sirius muttered grumpily and knocked over his little game piece. We all laughed and stood up to stretch.

“Aww Sirius is a bad loser!” I said while laughing. He poked his tongue out at me. Very mature.

Just as we finished packing up the game the bell rang.

Peter came over to join us after having played a game of muggle Go Fish with Maisie. We were in high spirits and were nearly out the door when Professor Verona stopped the class and said, “If I could just have your attention please. I have an exciting announcement!” The class groaned. Verona's 'exciting announcements' usually were never exciting.

“Next weekend our whole Muggle Studies class will be going on a very exciting camping trip!” Verona exclaimed and looked at his class excitedly. Most of us stared blankly at him. Some of the muggle born students looked interested while the others looked horrified.

“So class have a good weekend and next week we will be going over everything we need to know for our little adventure. Your homework for this weekend is to start writing a list of things you think will be essential for surviving in the wilderness,” He clapped his and said, “Off you go!”

* * *

“So when you say camping, you mean actually sleeping on the ground?” I asked Lily incredulously as we sat eating dinner that night. “Outside?”

Lily, Remus and Peter all laughed at me, having all come from either a muggle or half muggle household. James, Sirius, Alice and I on the other hand were having trouble with the concept of camping.

“But... what is the point?” Sirius asked while shoveling a mouthful of potatoes into his mouth.

Lily, giving him a disgusted look sighed and said, “Just wait and see. You will love it,” I saw her wink at Remus and he tried to hide his sly grin.

I do not like my chances of 'loving it'. In fact I think I will be 'hating it'. Hmm, we will just have to wait and see.

Once we had all finished eating we got up as a group to head back up to our common room. As I walked past the Slytherin table I scanned it quickly for Aiden. I saw him sitting with a very pretty blonde haired girl who was talking to him, her mouth close to his ear.

Not sure of what I was feeling at the sight of them, I looked away quickly. That only lasted for about a second before I had to look at them again. This time though both Aiden and the girl caught me looking. I held my gaze with Aiden, the obvious question of 'Are you still mad at me?' on my face.

He looked away and began pushing his food around on his plate.

I'll take that as a yes then.

The girl continued to stare at me before a nasty smirk spread across her face, making her pretty features turn hard and taunting. She slipped her arm around Aiden's shoulders and went back to talking in his ear.

I tore my eye's away from them both and stomped out of the hall.

* * *

The weekend began and, for the most part, it had the promises of being the best weekend I have ever had at Hogwarts. For one thing it was the first weekend where I actually had friends to spend it with. For another I didn't spend it cooped up in the library pouring over books that I didn't even need to read. I tried to push all thoughts of Aiden out of my head. I would deal with that drama later.

On Saturday Lily, Alice and I decided to take our homework out by the lake. Our excuse was that the fresh air would do us good. It did do us good. It's our homework that it didn't do any good for. It lay forgotten as we lazed around in the sun, tanning our legs.

It was still warm enough to wear shorts so we took advantage of that. But that meant showing my legs in direct sunlight. They were a shocking pale white. I'm sure if a person was to walk past without suitable eye wear protection they would have been blinded.

Just as we were getting a bit hungry and thirsty the Marauder’s came to our rescue.

“We noticed you girls were out here, mind if we join you?” Remus asked smiling down at me. Lucky I was sitting down or I may have fallen over.

I pretended to think for a moment, just to make them squirm, before I asked, “What's in the bag?” and gestured towards the bulging bag that Peter was carrying.

“We come bearing treats!” James said excitedly and pulled two pumpkin pasties out of the bag.

I looked at the other girls for confirmation before saying, “You may sit,” and grinning at them.

Well any chance of homework being done was now zero with the Marauder’s around. Not that I was complaining. I had Remus sitting stretched out next to me and cold pumpkin juice within reach. Can life get any better?

It could.

My bottom is really starting to get sore. I just can't get comfy. God I bet this is what camping is like. I was moving around trying to find the comfiest position without much luck. Eventually I just gave up with sitting and flopped down on my back so I was lying down.

“Owwww!” I exclaimed and rubbed the back of my head. I may have been a little forceful when I laid down.

Everyone looked over at me sprawled out on the ground, in pain mind you, and laughed at me. I sat up and crossed my arms and pouted. “I can't get comfortable!”

“Here, you can rest your head in my lap if you want to lay down?” Remus asked, crossing his legs and facing me. Thank god everyone has returned to their conversations because I am sure I am about to die. I stared at him for a second to make sure he was serious/not a dream.

He was serious. Also not a dream.

“Okay,” I said shyly. I can't believe I’m doing this. I slowly turned around and laid back so my head was resting in his lap.

Oh sweet Merlin, this is the comfiest thing in the entire world. It took me a minute to relax fully but once I did I decided I am never moving.

I looked up at Remus. He was upside down and smiling at me. “Comfy now?” he asked and smiled sweetly.

“Very comfy, thanks!” I said and smiled up at him. How I even managed to answer him is beyond me, but good job brain! We are getting much better at this.

We spent the rest of the afternoon like that. The others didn't comment on it but I saw Lily and Alice both give me subtle smiles. I saw Sirius' eyes flicker towards us once or twice but he acted rather normally so I didn't think much about it.

When it came time to get up I wanted to protest. Remus' legs were probably numb by now after having my fat head laying on them all afternoon but I was just so comfortable and relaxed. And while touching Remus Lupin of all people! Who would have guessed?

If you say you guessed, you lie!

“We'd better head back up to the castle for dinner, it's getting dark,” Alice said to Lily. James looked a little disappointed. I looked at Lily who looked just as equally disappointed.

I hadn't missed her little two hour conversation with James without one mean word from either of them. I reminded myself to tease her later.

“Need a hand up?” Sirius asked, standing in front of me, his feet on either side of my stretched out legs. He reached out his hands and I grabbed them. He pulled me up and I instantly wanted to lay back down. It was so warm! The sun had disappeared behind some low clouds and the warmth of the day was slowly turning cool.

“Thanks,” I said to Sirius before turning around to help Remus up. At least I remembered this time.

I held out my hands and helped pull him to his feet. He stretched his arms over his head, making his shirt lift just enough to show me a peek at his lower muscles which were a lot firmer than I thought. Oh Merlin, make him do it again. Please?

He didn't.

Curse you Merlin!

We made our way back towards the castle as a group and I fell into step beside Remus and James.

“Thanks for letting me use you as a giant pillow,” I said and smiled at Remus.

“No problem, it was actually really comfortable,” he answered and smiled.

“Remus never lets me use him as a pillow,” James grumbled from my left and pretended to pout. We laughed all the way into the Great Hall.

* * *

Sunday was spent doing the homework we had neglected the day before. Well everyone else did their homework. I tried and failed.

Us girls decided we had better stay in the common room until our work was done or else we may get distracted again. We claimed the comfy seats by the windows and settled in to do our Transfiguration essay. We had only been working for about fifteen minutes before the Marauder’s turned up.

“Are you girls doing homework?” James asked as he looked sadly at our books. Remus was next to him and he had his book bag over his shoulder. He looked even paler today and the cheerful smile that he usually wore was more of a forced smile.

I hope he is okay... I will have to ask him later.

“Unfortunately, yes,” I answered and looked grumpily at my essay. I may or may not have only written three words. Two of which were my name.

“Would it be okay if we joined you? None of us have done ours either. You girls distracted us with your fun and bare legs yesterday,” Sirius said and winked at us.

“We distracted you? How about you distracted us with your promise of tasty treats? Most of which, you ate!” I said, laughing.

The boys all sat down and Sirius and I carried on our banter for a bit before Lily, looking stressed said, “If you two don't shut up I am going to magic your mouths closed!”

Sirius and I looked at her for a second, shocked into silence. Then I giggled. Then Sirius tried not to laugh. Then we both burst out laughing. We just couldn't help it. Nothing was particularly funny, especially since Lily was glaring at us and everyone else was looking at us weirdly. We were just in an odd mood. I blame the homework.

“I'm sorry Lil's. Sirius is a bad influence on me. We'll shut up now,” I said, trying not to giggle.

Sirius started to protest but I kicked him under the table and he glared at me but didn't say anything. Lily, looking satisfied, went back to her essay.

Remus gave me a small smile before he began writing on his parchment. My stomach fluttered and, trying to hide my smile, looked down at my near blank parchment.

I tried and tried but I just couldn't think. Who cares about conjuration spells and their day to day use?! No one is the answer. Well except Professor McGonagall I guess.

Also, how was I expected to concentrate when all I could think of is how comfy Remus' lap was and how I wish he would suddenly declare his undying love for me?

“I can see you have gotten a lot of work done,” Sirius whispered in my ear, leaning over and looking at my barely started essay. I jumped at the feel of his hot breath on my neck.

“Shut up, you haven't even started yours!” I whispered back.

“I actually did mine yesterday,” he whispered, casting a look at Lily but she was deep in thought, scribbling away.

“I always knew you were a goody-two-shoes deep down,” I whispered and smirked at Sirius. He just rolled his eyes.

“You're not going to do your essay today, I can just feel it,” Sirius taunted, still in a low whisper.

I wanted to protest and do it just to prove him wrong but I knew it was a losing battle.

You know when you just can't get in the mood to do any work and you just stare blankly into space for about ten years? And before you know it, it has been twenty minutes and you're accidentally drooling all over your work that you haven’t even started?

No?

Just me then.

“How did you manage to get yours done?” I whispered to Sirius, pushing my parchment away.

“James and Remus were on prefect patrols last night and Peter was off somewhere with Maisie. I got bored,” he explained.

I nodded understandingly, though privately surprised he wasn't out with Emma or whoever his current girl was.

Why hadn't I taken advantage last night when Lily was on prefect duties and Alice was out stalking Frank?! That's right; I was skipping dreamily around our dorm room thinking of Remus.

I still think that was better use of my free time.

“Want to play a game of chess?” Sirius asked suddenly.

“Okay!” I said a little too enthusiastically. What? I like chess alright?

We both got up from the table and I put my unused parchment back into my bag. The others all looked up at our sudden movement.

“We're just going to play a game of chess,” Sirius explained, answering their questioning looks.

“But you haven't finished your essay yet!” Lily said, seemingly shocked that I could think of playing a game of chess when there was still work to be done.

“I'll do it tonight!” I said dismissively. Well I hope I will be able to do it tonight.

Sirius and I made our way over to the far side of the room so as not to annoy Lily. This side of the room seemed rather popular as there were no free chairs. Everyone was probably over here because they are scared of Lily when she is in study mode.

I don't blame them.

So we settled ourselves down on one of the thick rugs on the floor. Somehow between the time it took to cross the room, Sirius had managed to find a chess set. I think he may have stolen/borrowed it from some poor first year.

We set up the pieces and started playing rather enthusiastically. We were both shouting at our pieces and after a rather spectacular checkmate from myself, I threw my hands up and cheered loudly.

Quite a few people looked alarmed. What can I say? I have that effect on people.

Sirius and I were just starting our second game when Remus came over to join us. He smiled down at me and said, “Looks like all the fun is happening over here. Who's winning?”

Alright Shaylee, remember to breathe.

I smiled brilliantly up at him and said, “Of course the fun is over here, look who you're talking to!” Remus laughed and Sirius scoffed. I continued, “And either Sirius is letting me win or he is terrible at chess,”

Remus grinned and sat down next to me. “Pretty sure Sirius is just terrible at chess,” he said, laughing his amazing laugh.

“Oi!” Sirius exclaimed. “I am just being a gentleman and letting Shaylee win!”

“Sure, whatever you say,” I said, giggling.

After that Sirius tried even harder to beat me but he still lost.

Obviously I am the chess/potions master. Whatever. No big deal.

After his second loss he huffed and got to his feet. “Stupid game, didn't want to win anyway,” he grumbled to himself.

“Given up have you?” I asked with a smirk. He glared at me. I smiled back at him sweetly.

“I'm late for a date with a broom closet,” Sirius said and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Ew, I didn't need to hear that!” I said laughing.

Once Sirius had left, Remus asked me, “Up for another game?”

“Of course, I never tire of beating people,” I said with a sly grin. I had a moment to think that my brain is doing quite good today. Now if only we can keep it up…

We reset the pieces and began playing. I actually had to think about my moves carefully. Remus was a lot better at chess than Sirius was. The game was much slower and I was enjoying the challenge.

As we waited for Remus' Queen to drag one of my Pawns off the board, I subtly looked at Remus. He was looking better than earlier but still not his normal self. I frowned worriedly.

“Remus...” I started and he looked at me. I swallowed nervously and quickly said, “Are you okay?”

He looked at me in surprise for a second before he said, “I'm fine!” in a bright voice. “Why do you ask?”

“You just seem more quiet than usual lately... I thought maybe you were feeling a bit off colour...” I somewhat mumbled to the chessboard, not meeting his eyes. God, why am I so awkward at this?!

I looked up in time to see Remus looking at me with an odd look on his face. Before I could even begin to think what it meant, it was gone and Remus was saying, “I'm really alright. Just school work, NEWT levels, you know that sort of stuff,” he smiled warmly at me and I nearly melted on the spot. “Thanks for asking though,”

After that awkward little moment Remus and I went back to our chess game like nothing had happened. In the end Remus ended up winning the game which I was okay with. We both stretched out on the comfortable rug, not feeling like another game.

Oh Merlin, what do I do now? Remus is just looking at me, his head propped up on his hand while lying on his side. I can't think of anything to say! All I can think of is how amazing he looks right now and how I would like to snog him senseless.

I hope to God he can't read minds.

Just as I was about to say the first thing that came to my head, other than the whole snogging him senseless thing, Remus spoke first. Thank Merlin for that otherwise we would be talking about flobberworms. Don't ask why they were the first thing I thought of.

“Tell me about your family?” he asked casually but looking intently at me.

A little surprised, I rolled onto my stomach so I was facing him before saying, “Where to start!” I laughed and Remus smiled. “Well as you might have been able to tell by our Muggle Studies classes, I am a pure-blood,”

Remus pretended to look shocked and said “Really? I would never have guessed!” He grinned at me while I poked my tongue out at him.

“Both of my parents work for the Ministry. Mum is in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Don't ever ask her to explain her job. I made that mistake once and I fell asleep,” I joked and Remus laughed, making my stomach do a flip.

“My Dad works in the Department of Mysteries,” I said quietly so only Remus would hear. “I don't really know what he does, he isn't allowed to talk about his work and he isn't home a lot anyway...” I trailed off. Remus looked understandingly at me and waited for me to continue.

“I have two older brothers. There is Brendan, he's the oldest at twenty-five and he lives in France with his wife, Aimee. She is a muggle which I personally think is great. I may be a pure-blood but I by no means think it matters what someone’s blood is. If you love someone... well that's all that should matter.” I said quietly and rather awkwardly.

Remus had a weird look on his face again. He was deep in thought, his brow furrowed. Not wanting to comment on it, I continued.

“Then there is Rhys. He is twenty-one and is the rebel of the family,” I said smiling at the thought of my brother. “Dad wanted him to work at the Ministry but of course, Rhys being Rhys said he would work for the Ministry when Salamander's learned to fly. He lives in London and works at the Apothecary in Diagon Alley. He was mad about Potions when he was at Durmstrang.”

“So he didn't go to Hogwarts?” Remus asked, looking surprised.

“No, both Brendan and Rhys went to Durmstrang,” I said before putting on a man's voice, mocking my father “It is a fantastic school to teach young men discipline!” I rolled my eyes. “It worked okay for Brendan but I can't say the same for Rhys. They tried to send me to Beauxbatons but I didn't want to be that far from home and in the end Mum let me come to Hogwarts.”

“I'm glad you came to Hogwarts,” Remus said with a shy smile. I'm pretty sure my heart stopped and struggled to restart. I blushed bright red and mumbled 'thanks'.

Ohhh Merlin, are you trying to give me a heart attack? Why is Remus so sweet? He must know I like him and is only trying to be nice so as not to hurt my feelings. God, why am I so red? Stop it face!

Eventually my face started to de-red itself and I asked Remus about his family. He told me about his muggle mother and wizard father and how he was an only child. We talked for close to an hour about everything from our childhood to what our favourite colours were. Just so you know, his is red. Mine is yellow.

He had just finished telling me a hilarious story about the time James and Sirius convinced Peter that flobberworms were out to get him, when Sirius re-appeared, his hair and robes very out of place.

“Would you look who is back! Did you enjoy your broom closet rendezvous?” I asked, giggling.

Sirius grinned and winked at me. “I did, well until McGonagall walked in on us. She just about exploded. Poor Minny, I think she was jealous. She gave me a detention,” he said and sighed. Remus and I cracked up laughing.

* * *

I knew it. I knew I should have done my essay earlier. I am going to be in so much trouble. McGonagall will already be in bad mood because of Sirius. Oh God! I've got McGonagall and Sirius snogging in my head! Get out! Get out!

Trying to push aside disgusting snogging images, I tried to concentrate on my Transfiguration essay. I was sitting at the same table that we had been sitting at this morning but this time I was alone.

It was after dinner and everyone else was over having fun where Sirius, Remus and I were earlier. Why didn't I do this stupid essay before!

But, I guess if I had done it earlier I wouldn’t have spent all that amazing time getting to know Remus. Totally worth it.

Sighing in defeat I started scribbling away at my essay. I was about half way when I got stuck.

“Want some help?” asked a soft voice in my ear. I jumped and turned quickly to see Remus looking down at me, smiling mischievously.

“You scared me!” I said, trying to sound angry but failing. Remus sat down in the chair next to me and grinned.

“That was the point!” he said and poked me in the ribs playfully.

What? What is going on? Is this happening? Is he flirting with me?! Or just being friendly? Boys are so confusing!

“You're in a good mood!” I blurted out, squirming away from his continued pokes.

“I've had a good day I guess,” he said and smiled warmly at me. Ohhh nooo here come the butterflies.

“Me too, well I was until I realised I still hadn't done this stupid essay. I'm pretty sure the teachers enjoy torturing us with all this homework!” I said dramatically.

“Well I could give you a hand if you want? The faster you get this done the faster you can come and beat Sirius at exploding snap. He is currently undefeated and has a larger head than normal from it,” Remus joked.

“Thanks, I'd love your help,” I said shyly.

Remus leaned in and put his arm across the back of my chair. He was so close that our shoulders were touching and my body automatically heated up. I could feel his breath on my cheek and feel his chest rising and falling softly next to me.

I nearly fell out of my chair.

Remus was saying something to me but I just couldn't concentrate. All I could feel, smell and think about was Remus Lupin.

“Huh? Oh, yes I'm fine,” I said quickly. I turned my head so I was looking directly at Remus. When had he gotten this close? Where his lips always that amazing shape?

I was just staring at Remus in a sort of transfixed state and he was staring back at me. I saw his eyes slowly moving over my face, as if trying to memorize it. My stomach gave a great jolt and I was overcome with the insane urge to move my face just those couple of inches closer to close the gap between us.

Just as my brain decided to take things into its own hands and my body moved slightly forward, Remus cleared his throat and quickly turned away.

“We'd better finish this essay!” he said in a forced cheerful voice. My stomach felt like it had dropped out of my body. An overwhelming feeling of rejection washed over me and I fought hard not to cry.

Remus obviously saw what I was about to do and so he turned away quicker than you can say, 'I don't like you but I am too nice to tell you'.

Oh Merlin, why didn't you stop me? Why do you always let me make a fool of myself in front of Remus? As if he would ever like me. Why did I listen to my stupid brain? God I can't even look at him now, I am so embarrassed!

“Uh, you know what; I think I am okay to finish off this essay. You go have fun with the others!” I said, trying my hardest to sound normal.

“But-” Remus started but I cut him off.

“Seriously it's fine, go on,” I said, avoiding looking at him and picking up my quill, scribbling anything I could think of, knowing it wouldn't make sense but not caring.

I could feel him looking at me for a moment before he sighed and got up and returned to the laughing group of our friends.

I collected up my work as fast as I could and shoved it into my bag. I can't stay here, I need to... I don't know what I need. I just know that I can't sit here staring longingly at someone who very obviously doesn't want me. So I picked up my bag and quickly climbed out of the portrait hole.

* * *

I crept back through the portrait hole much later that night, well past curfew. I was trying to be as quiet as I could so as not to draw any attention to myself. I could hear voices talking quietly from the armchairs by the fire. Oh just bloody great. It is the Marauders.

Of course.

Everyone else had gone to bed except for them. Why couldn’t they have gone to bed at a decent hour like normal people?! What were they doing up so late anyway?

Whatever, I have more important things to think about. Like the fact that I needed to get past the Marauders without any of them, particularly Remus, seeing my puffy red eyes. So I tip-toed silently the long way around the room towards the girls staircase so that I could avoid going anywhere near the boys. Not far now… Just a little bit further…

“OWW!” I cried out in pain before instantly clapping my hand over my mouth and looking hurriedly over at the Marauders who were all now staring at me. Stupid table, getting in the way of my foot!

“Hey Shaylee, are you alright?” Sirius asked standing up and starting to walk towards me. Remus stood up as well and he was looking at me with a worried frown. Noooo, stop looking at me! Look away!

“Yeah I’m fine! I’m just off to bed, night!” I said quickly and limped as fast as my sore foot could take me up the girl’s staircase and to the safety of my dorm.

I had to change into my pajamas in the dark so I didn’t wake Lily or Alice up. I don’t care if I wake Demelza up but it is quite unlikely because she is snoring so loudly that I am surprised she doesn’t wake herself up.

Once I had pulled the hangings closed around me and climbed into my inviting bed, I lay staring at the ceiling. Nothing like a horribly awkward encounter with Remus to make my first great weekend go from amazing, to poo.

Why had I been such an idiot? As if he would ever like me as more than a friend. I mean I am sure heaps of girls practically throw themselves at him on a daily basis. He is probably fighting them off with a stick that he keeps in his bag at all times. I bet girls plan surprise attacks just to get a piece of him. What chance do I have?

None is the answer.

A/N:So the last chapter was a bit of a filler chapter so I tried to make sure this one had plenty of Remus goodness in it and also some new info about Shaylee. How about the almost kiss? Love it? Hate it? Want to curse me for not making them kiss and live happily ever after? Let me know with a review! :D

Also, for those who haven't played Cluedo before I recommend giving it a go! It is a very fun game and was quite happy when I found out it would have existed during the Marauder's era meaning I could use it in my story!

Lastly, thank you for reading! I have hit the 40,500 reads mark and I am amazed by how many read and review! It makes my day and encourages me to write. So a big thank you to everyone who has read my story! xx

“Shaylee, this is the last time I am going to be nice, GET UP!” someone with the voice of a banshee shrieked at me. I pulled my pillow over my head and ignored the banshee from hell.

What do I care if a banshee is yelling at me to get out of bed? I am depressed and will probably never have a boyfriend. I will live on my own with twenty cats and shout mean things at passing children. Though I am slightly impressed on how the banshee got into my dorm room.

“That’s it!” the banshee said in a frustrated voice. I heard its retreating footsteps and, sighing in relief, let the grip on my pillow loosen. Now I can go back to my wallowing in self-pity in peace.

“ARRRRGH!” I screamed as a jet of cold water hit me directly in the face, my pillow having just been ripped from grip. I shot straight up in my bed, spluttering and looking around in bewilderment.

A slightly crazed looking Lily was standing next to my bed with a self-satisfied smirk on her face, her wand twirling innocently in her hand. Huh, I guess she was the banshee. Don’t tell her I thought that.

“Lily!” I shouted in shock. Well I tried to shout but there was still water in my mouth and it made shouting a little difficult. It sort of came out as “Wibwy!” but she got my point none the less.

“I warned you, I said it was the last time I was going to be nice. Plus I have done you a favour, now you don’t have to shower!” She said cheerfully. I had to stop myself from cursing her.

I glared at her as I slowly got out of my soaking sheets and dripped off towards the bathroom.

“I’m going down to breakfast. I have Ancient Runes first so I will see you in Potions!” Lily called to me through the bathroom door. I have a free lesson this morning! Why did she wake me up!? Maybe she thought I wouldn’t get up at all…

She would have been right.

After hearing Lily leave I heaved a sigh. She doesn’t know what happened last night. She probably just thinks this is another morning where I want to have a sleep in. Good. The less people who know what an idiot I am the better.

Oh sweet Merlin and his goats. I look awful. No wonder Remus didn’t want to kiss me! Well to be a little fair, I hadn’t just woken up and been soaked to the skin last night. But still. Looking at myself now I don’t blame him.

What am I going to do? I can’t even look at him without wanting to run and hide forever. I frowned at myself in the mirror. I can’t do that though, no matter how much I want to hide forever under a lovely rock with my bug friends. James and Sirius are bound to notice something is up and I don’t want to lose them as friends. There is only one thing I can do. Or at least try and do.

Pretend like it never happened.

Okay and maybe try and make myself as pretty as possible so Remus knows what he is missing. I’d better get to work if I want that to happen.

* * *

Alright brain we can do this! I think.

Well maybe…

Oh God we can’t do this! Run awaaaaay!

I must look like the biggest idiot in the world standing outside the potions room dithering around like a fool. I had arrived at the dungeons before anyone else and was trying to decide if I should go in now and wait or get the first awkward encounter with Remus over and done with outside. I would like to have that encounter say, um, never! But I don’t think that is going to work.

I had spent most of my free lesson in front of the mirror trying to make myself somewhat attractive. I don’t know if I succeeded or not. For all I know I may have accidentally turned myself into a troll. Sadly, that would not surprise me.

As I stood there awkwardly near the door the first students of the class started arriving. They looked at me weirdly but I ignored them. Time to make up my mind… Okay I’ve got it.

Just as I decided I would wait for the Marauders to turn up so I could get the awkwardness out of the way, I heard Sirius’ bark like laugh coming from the stairs leading down to the dungeons.

I’m not ready!

I quickly picked up my bag and practically leaped into the potions room, shutting the door behind me for good measure. I heard someone say, “OI!” as I slammed the door shut in their face but whatever. I hurried off towards the desk that Aiden and I shared and sat down. I pretended to be looking through my bag so I could avoid looking at the door.

The angry Slytherin boy who I had slammed the door on came into the room looking murderous but he didn’t seem to know it was me. He went off to his desk grumbling darkly under his breath.

I was still pretending to look through my bag when someone sat down next to me. For a wild second I thought it was Remus and I nearly had a heart attack.

But it turned out to be, “Aiden!” I said in surprise. I didn’t think he was going to sit with me today because yesterday he was still mad at me. But I’m not complaining! It made me happy that he was going to at least sit with me.

“Hey Shaylee,” he said softly, looking at me with those smoldering eyes of his. My anxiety of seeing Remus seemed to ebb slightly just by Aiden talking to me again.

“Hi Aiden,” I said shyly. “So… are you still mad at me?” I asked, talking to my hands.

I heard him sigh before he said, “No, I’m not mad at you anymore. I’m sorry for ignoring you over nothing really. You’re not mad at me are you?”

I looked up at him and saw that he genuinely looked worried. “No! Of course I’m not,” I said and smiled brightly to reassure him. He grinned back at me and what little tension there was between us died.

I was just about to say something when the Marauders walked through the door. James and Sirius were talking animatedly to each other while Peter was standing on his tip toes looking for someone, Masie most likely.

Remus however wasn’t talking or smiling like he normally would. He looked sicker than he did yesterday. He definitely must be getting the flu. My heart panged as I took in the dark circles under his eyes and how pale he looked. It took all I had not to get up and go give him a comforting hug.

It was then though that I realised that I was staring at him. He was just turning his head in my direction when I snapped out of it and quickly began rummaging through my bag again, refusing to look anywhere but at my hands.

“They have sat down, you can stop pretending to look through your bag,” Aiden said quietly to me, his hands grabbing one of mine to stop it moving around in my bag that was now a mess.

Blushing, I looked up at Aiden to find him looking at me, a slight questioning look on his face. But before he could ask me any questions, Slughorn walked into the classroom and started the lesson. It wasn’t until we had both started our shrinking potions that Aiden had the chance to ask,

“So what’s up with you and the Marauders?”

“Nothing!” I said a little too quickly and Aiden looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Babe, you are a terrible liar,” he said and grinned at me.

“I am not!” I said in a bit of a huff. I mean I’m not THAT bad am I?

“You are but that’s why I like you,” he said in a joking voice but I saw the tint of a blush on his cheeks.

My stomach gave a little flip-flop at his words. What? What?! Does he mean he likes me as a friend? Or does he really like me? I don’t know! Why are you asking me?!

I just smiled a little awkwardly and said, “Okay so I am a bad liar. We can’t all be from Slytherin where they program you to lie with ease!” I poked my tongue out at him and he laughed.

“I’ll let that one slide. Are you going to tell me what’s up?” Aiden asked and gave me his best pleading look.

“I don’t really want to talk about it…” I said quietly, looking at my hands again. My stomach started to have that familiar feeling of embarrassment and I wanted to be talking about anything but this.

One of Aiden’s hands slowly slid into my mine. I stared at our hands for a moment before I slowly turned to look at him. He was looking calmly ahead, as if trying to not make a big deal out it, at Slughorn who was at the board explaining something. His thumb grazed over my hand comfortingly and I instantly felt better.

I gave his hand a little squeeze of thanks and a happy smile slowly slid onto his face.

He released my hand once we both had to get back to work and neither of us mentioned it. Now that I don’t have the distraction of his hand in mine I don’t know what to think!

Was he just comforting me? Did he just want to see if I had unnaturally sweaty hands? God I hope not. Or did he do it because he actually likes me?

I don’t know! What did my reaction imply? I was saying thank you for being nice but what if he took it another way?

Oh Merlin, please help!

“Alright class, excellent work! Everyone please bring a labeled sample of your potion up to my desk and you may leave,” Slughorn announced loudly to the class an hour later. I quickly scoped some of my potion into one of my vials and walked with Aiden to drop it off at Slughorn’s desk.

I had just placed it on the desk and turned to head out of the door when I bumped into someone.

Remus.

Of course.

“Shaylee!” Remus said in surprise. He was clutching his vial of potion in his hand and I couldn’t help thinking that it looked better than mine.

Wait, what am I thinking?! Escape! But how?!

Remus was opening his mouth to say something when he abruptly shut it again. The cause for that was Aiden’s arm slowly encircling my waist. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. Somehow Aiden putting his arm around me felt very different from when Sirius did it. Not knowing what to do, I did nothing. Well except a good impression of a stunned fish.

Remus’ face suddenly became very hard and his eyes flicked from Aiden’s arm to my face and back again. Oh God! I have to do something!

“Oh look at the time!” I said in a fake shocked voice and looked at my wrist, never mind that I’m not wearing a watch. “I have to go… get… my Transfiguration homework!” I gave a cheery wave to Remus, who looked confused. I began to quickly walk towards the door. It took me a moment to realise that Aiden was following me out of the room.

Oh nooo. He is going to ask me what is going on again. As if he didn’t notice that something was obviously different between Remus and I. Just as I was getting ready to sprint away from Aiden, he surprised me again by gently grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the flow of students. He led me far enough away so no one could over hear us but he still stood looking at the Potions room door. The last students out were the Marauders.

Remus was talking in a low voice to James whose brow was frowned. Sirius began looking past students as if searching for someone. His eyes found mine and we stared at each other for a moment. James, Remus and Peter followed his gaze and saw me. Remus looked away as quickly as possible but James started forward, towards Aiden and I.

Aiden shifted next to me and I knew he was anticipating a confrontation. That is why he had waited before asking me any questions. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.

By now James had reached us. He smiled kindly at me. Oh God! He knows! Remus has told him what happened and now he feels sorry for me! I am definitely about to die of embarrassment.

“Hey Shaylee, I haven’t seen you all day. Everything alright?” he asked, completely ignoring Aiden.

“Hi James, yes everything is fine!” I said in an overly happy voice. “Aiden just wanted to talk to me for a moment.”

“Privately, if you don’t mind,” Aiden said in a calm voice but his eyes were narrowed. James frowned at him and started to say something back when Sirius called,

“Oi James we have to get to Transfiguration. Wouldn’t want Minnie getting upset now would we?” he smirked at James who rolled his eyes but relaxed and started back towards his friends.

“You’d better hurry too Shaylee. McGonagall will kill you if you’re late,” he said in a brotherly sort of voice over his shoulder.

“Don’t forget to get your homework…” Remus sort of mumbled. The four boys turned to walk up the stairs leading to the entrance hall and Aiden breathed a sigh of relief. I continued to watch them leave and at the last moment Sirius turned back and gave me a meaningful look.

I know what that look means. I owe him an explanation. He saved me from dealing with James and Aiden at the same time and he either knows what happened last night or he has noticed something is up with me today. Great. Just excellent.

I turned to Aiden and he was smiling down at me. I smiled weakly back at him. His smile faded and he looked worried.

“Shaylee, I know you don’t want to talk about what ever happened, I get that. Just know that I’m here for you okay?” he said softly, looking at me intently.

My stomach burst into butterflies and I looked shyly away from his intense look. This is too much. I don’t know how to deal with these types of things! The only boy I ever talked to before this was Barry the Giant Squid and I don’t even know if Barry is a boy or girl!

This is all backwards. Aiden likes me and I like Remus but Remus doesn’t like me and James loves Lily and Peter seems to like Maisie while Sirius likes everyone. Merlin, I’ve confused myself.

“Thanks Aiden. That’s really sweet,” I said just as softly.

“No problem. Just don’t go telling anyone in my house,” he joked and tried, and failed to laugh in response. His mouth turned down in a frown. “Babe, you had better give me a smile or I am going to have to slip you a cheering up potion,” Aiden said and slung his arm casually around my shoulders. I couldn’t help but smile this time as we made our way up out of the dungeons.

* * *

Oh McGonagall is going to be so angry. She is going to transfigure me into a frog to teach me a lesson, I just know it. It’s not my fault I forgot my Transfiguration homework in Gryffindor tower and had to sprint up there to get it! Okay so maybe it is. But it’s a bloody miracle I even did the stupid essay.

I skidded to halt outside McGonagall’s classroom a good five minutes late, clutching my essay which wasn’t all that great anyway. Maybe if I just quickly walk away now I can pretend I was sick…

Just as I was about to hurry off to hide in a cupboard somewhere until the lesson was over, I heard loud footsteps and the unmistakable whistle of Slughorn coming this way. I groaned and turned right back around to face the door. I will have to just suck it up and go to class.

I slowly and quietly turned the door handle, in the ridiculous hope that no one would notice me slipping into the classroom late. As soon as I stepped into the room, twenty pairs of eyes turned to stare at me.

Fantastic.

“Nice of you to join us Miss Sanchez,” said McGonagall in her stern voice. I gulped.

I had to resist the urge to bite back, ‘Well it is actually nice of me to join you all because just thirty seconds ago I was trying to decide which cupboard I would like to spend an hour in,’ but thank Merlin I did not say that because the Professors nostrils were flaring and that usually meant she was about to pounce.

“I’m sorry Professor; I forgot my homework and had to get it…” I mumbled, mostly to my shoes.

“I see,” said McGonagall, still in her stern voice. “Bring your homework up to me and find your seat. Five points from Gryffindor. I don’t want to see you late to my class again,” she finished, returning to the board and waving her wand.

Five points! That is so unfair! I have never even been late to this class in my entire life and the one time I am she takes five points! I have never lost points before! Where is the justice in the world?!

Thinking darkly to myself, I hurriedly dropped my essay off on McGonagall’s desk before looking around for a seat. I spotted one next to Sirius and my spirits lifted slightly. At least it wasn’t next to Germy Jamie. Or Remus.

I smiled at Sirius as I slid into the seat next to him and he smiled back before he frowned at me and made a small ‘tsk tsk’ sound.

“We told you not to be late!” he whispered to me while I took out my parchment and quill. I glared at him in response and he grinned. Like he is one to talk about being late! I’m pretty sure this is the first time he has ever made it to class on time!

“Why aren’t you sitting with James?” I asked under my breath.

“Old Minnie thought it wasn’t very productive for us to sit together anymore,” Sirius said rolling his eyes but smirking none the less. “He is sitting with Remus, though how that is supposed to be any better is beyond me.”

“Now I want you all to read the third chapter of your Transfiguration textbook, titled ‘Animagus’. Then proceed to practice your conjuring spells,” McGonagall said and sat back at her desk. She pulled a stack of parchment towards her and I knew it was everyone’s essays. Oh Merlin, don’t let her read mine! Please let it spontaneously catch fire! Or become invisible! For the love of Merlin, let a wild hippogriff fly through the window and eat it!

None of those ridiculous things happened. I wish they had. I had been so preoccupied by Remus last night that I hadn’t really finished it properly.

She is going to give me a T.

Brilliant.

Sighing, I opened my book to the chapter on Animagus and began reading the first few paragraphs. I was just thinking how difficult it would be to become an Animagus when I noticed that Sirius was leaning back in his chair, relaxed and watching me reading.

“You do know you’re supposed to read the chapter right? Not creepily watch me read it,” I said in a whisper to him but he only smirked at me. Sighing in frustration at his stupid smirks I returned to the book.

I had finished the chapter in less than ten minutes. What can I say? All that time in the library taught me to read fast. I pulled out my wand to start practicing conjuring spells when I looked over to see Sirius leaning back in his chair still, his book unopened.

“Are you trying to get into trouble?” I asked a little irritably. Here I am feeling bad about losing five points by accident when Sirius is purposely not doing his work, bound to lose more points!

“I’ve read the chapter,” Sirius said in a matter of fact voice, smiling at me innocently.

“You have not! You haven’t even opened your book!” I whispered pointing at his unopened textbook.

“Trust me, I have,” he said and leaned forward so he was looking at me properly.

“Well then why don’t you practice your conjuring spell?” I asked in a harsh whisper. Why am I getting angry? Merlin, this is one mixed up day.

“I was waiting for you,” he said smoothly and smirked at me again. Ohhh if I could conjure an elephant to land on his big fat head I would.

“I hate you!” I grumbled under my breath at him which only caused him to scoff.

“No you don’t!” he said and pulled out his wand. “You can’t hate us Marauders,” he continued before he flicked his wand and a perfect bunch of flowers were conjured onto the desk in front of him. “Especially Remus,” he said in a voice so low that I barely heard him. But I did. My stomach felt like it had exploded and I wanted to die.

He grinned at me in satisfaction.

“I- wha- you-…” I stuttered, trying to string a sentence together. “What is that supposed to mean?!” I asked in a rush, a little louder than I expected. McGonagall looked up sharply from her parchment and fixed me with her steely glare.

“Miss Sanchez, this behavior is most unlike you! First you are late to my class, then you interrupt it and need I say that this essay of yours is nowhere near up to your usual standards! Please see me after class!” She said in an angry voice. “Back to work everyone!”

I sat there gaping at her, my mouth opening and closing, wanting to protest but knowing it was no good.

* * *

“So, what’s the verdict?” Sirius asked me as soon as I came storming out of the Transfiguration classroom. He had been leaning against the wall, waiting for me.

“Detention! I have detention! This is all your fault!” I said angrily to Sirius and shoved him away from me when he tried to put his arm around my shoulders.

He laughed and asked, “How is any of this my fault?” He was smiling at me and it made me want to kick him in the shin.

“It just is!” I snapped and began stomping off towards the great hall for lunch. Sirius chuckled and followed me.

“Oh calm down Shaylee, detention isn’t the end of the world! Hey that reminds me, I have detention tonight with McGonagall! See, it won’t be so bad because I will be there!” he said cheerfully and I just looked at him like he was from another planet.

Though I guess detention will be slightly better with Sirius... Never tell him I said that!

“Now I have some questions for you,” Sirius said as we walked down the crowded stairs, Sirius easily parting the crowd of students. I stuck close to him so that I didn’t get lost.

“What type of questions?” I asked hesitantly, though I knew exactly what questions he was planning. Maybe it would be a good thing to get lost in the crowd…

“Don’t even think about it!” Sirius said and slung his arm around my shoulders, cutting off my only form of escape. I sighed in defeat and took my anger out by poking my tongue out at a Slytherin girl who had bumped into me. That’ll show her.

“What is going on between you and Remus?” Sirius asked in a low voice, bending slightly so he could talk into my ear. I am bloody grateful he didn’t announce the question loud enough for the entire corridor to hear.

“I- I don’t know what you are talking about,” I said in an aloof voice, not daring to look at him.

“Playing dumb isn’t a good look for you sweetheart,” Sirius said, laughing and rolling his eyes. A Hufflepuff girl who was passing heard him call me sweetheart and gave me a particularly nasty glare.

Fantastic. This time tomorrow the whole school will think Sirius and I are dating. Or more likely everyone will think I have slipped him a love potion.

“Look, there is nothing going on with Remus and I alright? Now can we please drop this?” I asked irritably. We were nearing the great hall and I did NOT want anyone else over hearing this conversation.

Sirius ignored me and asked, “Well then what is with all the tension between you two? Just this weekend you were getting along great and now you will barely look at each other!” He stopped and pulled me off to the side, just outside the doors.

Oh God, there is no getting out of this. It felt different talking to Sirius about this than it had when Aiden had brought up the subject, I don’t know why though. At least I know now that Remus hasn’t told anyone about our almost kiss because it is unlikely that he would tell just one of his friends.

“Okay but if I tell you, you cannot say anything to anyone! I am trusting you here. You cannot laugh at me or react in anyway at all okay?” I asked him, giving a defeated sigh.

“I promise,” Sirius said in such a serious voice that I had to make sure I was still talking to the same person.

“I- well I sort of- I tried to kiss Remus last night and he turned away and then I wanted to die! There!” I said in such a rush I was worried that Sirius wouldn’t understand me. Well bugger him! I am not repeating it!

Sirius looked momentarily startled before his handsome face smoothed back to normal and he merely nodded. A nod? A NOD?! All I get from him is a nod?! Crap, I did ask him not to react. Nice thinking brain, NOT!

I thought once I told someone I would get some advice or something. I was just about to ask him what he thought when we were interrupted by Emma, Sirius’ crazy ‘girlfriend’.

“Hi Honey Bunch!” she said in her high pitched voice, tossing her hair. Her friend Emily popped up next to her, smiling and looking around for someone. “Where’s Remus?” Emma asked and winked at Emily.

I am going to curse them both. Twice, just for good measure.

“Hey,” Sirius said a little awkwardly. “Uh, I think he is at lunch.” I glared at him and he seemed to catch on because he quickly said, “Oh I remember now! He is in the, uh, Library!”

The two girls looked at each other before Emily smirked and walked off in the direction of the Library. Maybe three times, just in case.

I rolled my eyes and huffed off into the hall, leaving Sirius to deal with Emma.

* * *

I managed to avoid the Marauders for the rest of the day by sitting with Lily or Alice, though I did keep a close eye on Sirius. At the slightest hint of him telling Remus anything I was prepared to curse him into silence. Do not doubt me.

After a hurried dinner I said goodbye to the girls and got up to go to my detention. Sirius saw me leaving and followed me out of the hall. Now that I have told him, I don’t really know what to say to him. What if he makes fun of me or tells me that Remus would never like me in a hundred million years? I don’t think my fragile ego could take it.

“Would you slow down? Or are you that eager to get to your first detention?” Sirius asked jokingly as he caught up to me on the stairs.

“Oh shut up,” I said but slowed down. May as well get the teasing over with.

“For a girl in love, you are very grouchy,” Sirius said and grinned down at me. I glared at him.

“Oh yes, ha-ha I like someone who doesn’t like me back, how hilarious! You promised you wouldn’t tease me!” I growled and began stomping towards McGonagall’s office.

“Oh relax will you! I wasn’t teasing you! Okay, well sort of but I wasn’t trying to be mean!” Sirius panted as he caught up to me again.

“Just forget I told you anything okay?” I asked him desperately and before he could answer we had arrived at McGonagall’s door. I knocked and we both walked into the room.

“Ah good evening both of you. It comes as no surprise to me that you are here Mr Black. Tonight you will be writing out lines for me about why it is inappropriate to be fraternizing in broom cupboards,” McGonagall said sternly to Sirius who merely smirked.

“As for you Shaylee, I do not enjoy putting one of my best Transfiguration students in detention. I hope I don’t see you here again. Tonight I would like for you to re-do your essay conclusion because I know you can do much better,” She gave me a knowing look and I nodded.

For my first detention, it wasn’t that bad. Sirius wrote his lines quickly and all I really had to fix was the last few paragraphs of my essay. McGonagall let us go back to our common rooms before it was even eight.

“See, I told you detention wasn’t all that bad!” Sirius said cheerfully as we slowly walked side by side.

“Yeah but it wasn’t something I really wanted to experience!” I said but pushed him playfully so he knew that my bad mood was over. Sirius had said he wasn’t trying to be mean when he teased me and I believed him. But I still wanted to pretend like I had never told him anything. Hopefully he would play along.

We were halfway across the entrance hall when someone called out, “Shaylee!” Sirius and I turned around and saw Aiden walking towards us. He didn’t look that happy.

Sirius sighed exasperatedly and said, “I’ll meet you back in the common room.”

“Your boyfriend didn’t want to hang around? I thought for sure he would be the jealous type,” Aiden said nastily as he reached me. My greeting smile slipped off my face at his words. Boyfriend? Who, Sirius?

“What are you talking about?” I asked, genuinely confused. Aiden scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about, sweetheart,” Aiden said, his intense gaze on my face. I raised my eyebrow at his use of the word sweetheart before it hit me.

Sweetheart. That bloody Hufflepuff girl! Merlin she works fast.

I sighed in slight relief that Aiden wasn’t angry about anything more serious and smiled at him. Smiling however did not seem like the right thing to do because Aiden’s face darkened and he truly looked like he belonged in Slytherin. Taking a slight step back, I gently put my hand on his arm. He didn’t curse it off or bite it.

Always a good sign.

“Aiden, I know what you are think-” I tried to say but he cut me off.

“I asked you! I asked you if you were dating Black and you said no! I believed you because I- because I trust you and that isn’t something I do very often…” His voice had started out strong and angry but had finished soft and hurt.

My heart melted as I looked at his fallen expression and I went to hug him but he pushed me away.

“No, don’t touch me. Don’t feel sorry for me!” He spat, the anger back in his eyes. My anger flared up then at being so rudely pushed away.

“Fine! I won’t! But next time you might like to get your facts straight! I am not dating anyone! And why do you care anyway?!” I shouted at him, my eyes glaring into his, my anger mounting at his unreasonable reaction to a bit of gossip.

“Why do I care?!” He shouted right back, storming towards me and stopping so he was an inch from my face. “Because…” his voice dropped to a whisper and I could feel his breath on my lips. “Because I like you,” he whispered right before his lips came crashing into mine.

A/N: So, um, don't kill me?

Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing! It truly makes my day and gives me that dopey sort of smile. You know the one. :D Leave me a review telling me what you thought of the ending! I'm keen to find out how many Aiden supporters/haters are out there! :P

Well this is quite nice I guess. A little bit wetter than I expected but still nice. Oh God, what does my breath smell like? What did I have for dinner? What if I have food in my teeth?! Wait a minute, what are my lips doing? They are moving on their own! Stop that! Hang on… Aiden seems to like it. Huh, maybe I am not an awful kisser. Amazing. But still, what am I doing?!

Just as I was about to leap away from Aiden and run away forever, I heard a gruff voice say, “Get away from her!” and Aiden pulled away abruptly. When my eyes flew open I realised that at some point they had closed on their own accord. It took me a second to realise what I was looking at.

Oh dear God.

The Marauders. The bloody Maruaders! There they were, James had grabbed Aiden and pulled him away from me while Peter had his wand drawn pointing it at Aiden, looking nervous. Sirius was hovering behind James, looking uncertain. Wait a second… Where’s Remus?

I jumped slightly when I felt a hand gently touch my arm and I whirled around to find Remus looking down at me, his expression unreadable. I stared at him for a moment and I nearly forgot where we were or what had just happened before I heard a scuffle from behind me and the moment was broken.

“What do you lot think you are doing?!” I shouted as I whipped around to face the other three boys. Aiden was struggling against James’ hold and was cursing under his breath.

“Let him go!” I said angrily and made to take a step towards them but Remus’ hand held me back. I glared at him and shook off his hand. He let his arm fall limply to his side. My heart panged at the look on his face but I was too angry to let it stop me.

“James!” I snapped at James who sighed and let go of Aiden who pushed away from him and pulled out his wand.

“Aiden, don’t,” I said softly to him, his breathing was heavy and he was glaring at all of the Marauders in turn.

“Go back to your common room. I’ll talk to you tomorrow okay?” I said coaxingly to him. He glared at me for a moment but when I mouthed ‘please?’ his eyes softened and he stomped off to his common room. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I turned to face the Marauders. They all gulped visibly.

“What,” I said in a dark voice, “did you guys think you were doing?” I stared at them all, waiting for an answer. They stared blankly back at me. God at this rate we will have all died of old age. I will have grown a beard as long as Dumbledore’s!

“Well?” I asked impatiently.

Sirius shoved James forward and I fixed my gaze on him. James looked shocked for a second and tried to push Sirius in front of him but Sirius was having none of it. Well I guess I know who the ring leader was.

James sighed in defeat and said, “We were coming to meet you and Sirius from your detention when we ran into Sirius alone. He said you were with Lily but I knew that was a lie because I just saw her in the Library.”

He glared at Sirius who shrugged and said, “I tried to stop them Shaylee. I knew they would do something stupid. Not everyone is as nice as me-” James cut him off with a glare.

“So I guessed you were with that slime- I mean McKinnen and I just knew he would try something so here we are,” he said quickly and smiled at me.

I continued to glare at him. His smile faded. I do not understand boys. I never will. Where is the logic in that explanation?!

“So you decided to what? Rescue me?” I asked in an incredulous voice.

“Exactly!” James said, relieved that I understood him. “We saw him! Granted, I didn’t expect him to kiss you but he had his hands all over you. He attacked you! With his… mouth,” he finished somewhat awkwardly.

Oh God! They had seen everything! They will all think I wanted to kiss Aiden! Remus will think I am some sort of tarty girl who goes around kissing anything that moves! My life is over.

Wait a minute. Why are they all so surprised that Aiden wanted to kiss me? It isn’t THAT unbelievable is it?

Probably.

Still, I got my grumpy pants on.

“He kissed me! So what? Is that such an unbelievable thing to happen that the only explanation you can come up with is that I was being attacked?!” I shouted at all of them, waving my arms around for good measure.

“No that’s not-” Remus started but I cut him off.

“Well guess what! Someone does actually want to kiss me!” I couldn’t help it, my eyes flicked toward Remus and I saw his face redden. “I know what a big surprise that must be to all of you,” I said sarcastically.

“Shaylee, we were just trying to protect you,” James said quietly and took a step towards me.

“Well next time wait for me to ask,” I snapped before I stomped off towards Gryffindor tower.

Remus’ POV:

Well that could have gone better. A lot better. Like Aiden not kissing Shaylee better.

“I told you this was a bad idea!” Sirius said to James who rolled his eyes.

“Don’t act like you wanted her kissing that git!” James said. I wanted to agree whole heartedly with him but thought it would cause too many questions. Also there was a fire in my stomach that I didn’t think would let me speak right now.

I haven’t told anyone about the awkward moment last night when Shaylee and I almost kissed. I turned away at the last second not because I didn’t want to kiss her because Merlin did I want to kiss her, I just didn’t want to do anything before the full moon. I have been regretting it since. Every time I saw Shaylee today I wanted to pull her into an empty broom cupboard and see if her lips were as soft as they looked.

She made this urge harder to not act on by looking beautiful today. I am sure she did it deliberately. I was worried this morning that when I saw her it would be awkward and it was. I couldn’t help but steal glances at her all through Potions while she was sitting with McKinnen and the urge to curse him had surfaced. She didn’t look at me once. I knew then that I had hurt her feelings by turning away last night and I was determined to fix it. So I tried bumping into her at the end of Potions, just so I could talk to her, but she practically ran off with McKinnen.

After that I told myself that this is a good thing. That I couldn’t get involved with a girl like Shaylee because not only is she a friend but she is smart. She is bound to figure my secret out and then what? She runs screaming werewolf in the opposite direction? No, I can’t get involved with her, I told myself all day.

But now that I have seen her kissing Aiden of all people, I don’t know what to think. When I saw him kiss her I wanted to pull him off her and curse him into oblivion.

Am I jealous? Yes.

Do I like her? Yes.

Am I going to do anything about it? Get back to me on that one...

Shaylee's POV:

Stupid Marauder’s being... stupid! I could totally get loads of boys to kiss me if I wanted... If I was dreaming and the boys were delusional.

I stomped all the way back to the common room. I don't think stomping the whole way back was completely necessary but I had to work my anger out somehow.

People looked at me in alarm as I stomped through the crowded common room. I stomped up the stairs, though admittedly at this point I was more dragging my legs and gasping for breath. The look on Lily and Alice's faces when I flung the dormitory door open was priceless. I know I must look rather scary but I didn't care.

“Shaylee?” Lily asked tentatively. “Are you okay?”

“Aiden kissed me!” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Hang on a minute.

Aiden kissed me. Kissed me!

Oh my Merlin!

I was so busy thinking about the Marauder’s and concentrating on stomping that I completely forgot to comprehend the fact that Aiden kissed me!

I am an awful person.

Instead of being happy and gooey and all those girly things, I felt a stab of panic. I didn't want Aiden to kiss me! I wanted Remus to kiss me!

“Earth to Shaylee!” Alice said loudly, waving her hand in my face. I snapped out of my inner panic and began panicking out loud.

“Aiden kissed me! And Remus saw it! Everyone saw it! Well not everyone because that would be impossible... wait what was I saying? Oh right, Aiden kissed me!” I babbled continuously to a stunned silent Lily and Alice.

“Well?!” I asked a little impatiently. “Tell me what to do!” They continued to stare at me like a couple of goldfish so my mouth went bumbling on. “I'm pretty sure I’m having a mini panic attack. I am going to die! I can't breathe! Oh God, I am going to die and Remus will never know that I like him and Aiden will think he killed me!”

“Snap out of it!” Lily, finally snapping out of her useless staring, said loudly before a jet of cold water hit me in the face. I stood spluttering and blinking water out of my eyes. Hey, I can breathe again!

“Thanks Lily,” I mumbled and shuffled over to my bed. Not caring that I was soaking wet, again, I sat down heavily on my bed.

“Tell us everything and then we will try to help,” Alice said kindly and sat beside me on the bed.

I took a deep breath and said, “Well it all started last night...”

* * *

It is the next day and I am currently hiding in a broom cupboard. 'Why, Shaylee you daft tart, are you hiding in a broom cupboard' you might ask.

The answer is because I am a big fat coward and because I am very tired and look awful. Do you know how exhausting it is to avoid five people?

Very is the answer.

Also maybe the fact that I didn't get much sleep could be a factor. After I told the girls everything last night, including the whole nearly kissing Remus thing, I kept having a nightmare where giant lips were chasing me and making smacking sounds.

I pressed my ear to the thick door and tried to listen. I couldn't hear anything and thought about sprinting to my Charms class. At the rate I'm going I am going to be very late. I don't think Flitwick will accept the excuse, 'Well you see Professor, every time I saw one of the Marauders or Aiden I felt the insane urge to hurl myself into a smelly broom cupboard and hide'

Alright Shaylee, you can do this!

No I can't!

I really do suck at giving myself a pep talk. That's it; I have to stop being such a wuss. I took a deep breath and quickly opened the door. I looked out into the empty corridor and let a sigh of relief escape. I took a tentative step out of the closet and had a moment of victory that I had successfully avoided all five boys.

That is until I turned to the left and came face to chest with...

Sirius.

Of course. At least it wasn't Aiden or Remus. Hey look at me, looking on the bright side of things!

“Oh hey Sirius! How are you? Wait, I'm mad at you! Shut up!” I said all in an insane babble of Shaylee speech.

I turned to jump back into the cupboard when Sirius caught my arm and said, “Not so fast!”

Ohh Merlin.

“What do you want?” I asked testily.

“I want to talk to you,” Sirius said softly. Oh God, he is turning on his sorry look!

“Maybe I don't want to listen,” I said, trying to avoid looking at his face and instead looking at his arm muscles. Hmm, very nice... Wait, shut up brain!

“Well too bad,” he said and before I knew it he had pulled us both into the cupboard and shut the door.

“Hey!” I said angrily, trying in vain to push Sirius out of the way so I could open the door. “I know what you do in broom cupboards and I want no part in it!”

Sirius just rolled his eyes and leaned against the door, making it impossible for me to pull it open with his weight against it.

“We both know that I don't like you like that,” Sirius said, his teasing smile making me angrier.

“I-You-,” I spluttered like a fool. “Shut up!” I finished, not being able to think of anything else.

“Are you done yet?” he asked, grinning at me.

“No!” I shouted and I angrily kicked him in the shin.

I looked at him, shocked at myself. He looked at me, amused.

“Ow,” he said, mocking me.

I narrowed my eyes before sighing in defeat. “Fine! Talk to me all you want, I don't care!”

“Wow, you are a lot more crazier than normal today,” he said, a hint of a grin on his face.

“Shut up, I'm tired and I had to deal with a group of stupid boys and their stupid plan. So I guess you can say I had an eventful night,” I said grumpily before sitting on an over turned bucket.

“You can say that again,” Sirius said joking before his voice turned serious. “So Aiden kissed you huh?”

I gave him the 'duh!' look and he smiled at me. I hate it when he does that, it makes it harder not to want to kill him.

“And how do you feel about that?” he asked.

I stared at him before I burst out laughing. “How do I feel about that? What are you, a therapist?!”

Sirius glared at me and snapped, “Hey, I'm trying to be a good friend here and make it up to you for what happened last night!”

I stopped laughing abruptly and mumbled, “I know, sorry.”

We didn't say anything for a moment.

“It makes me feel... weird,” I said finally into the silence. Sirius nodded and waited for me to continue. “I didn't expect him to kiss me. I mean I guess I sort of realised that he was flirting with me a lot but I thought that was just our thing you know?” Sirius nodded and I went on. “And we were yelling at each other and I'm sure my face was all red and blotchy and before I knew it, he kissed me! I mean who wants to kiss a red blotchy girl?!”

I was on my feet again and pacing in the cramped space.

“Well,” Sirius said and I stopped my pacing to look at him. “Do you like him the way he obviously likes you?” He asked, no hint of a joke on his face.

The girls and I had talked about this all last night and Lily had asked me the same question. It took me a long time to respond with 'I don't know'.

Now that I was stuck in this stupid cupboard with stupid Sirius Black I suddenly realised that I did know the answer, I just didn't want to say it because once I admitted it to myself I would have to admit it to someone else.

“No,” I whispered. “I don't.”

Sirius stood there staring at me for a beat before he grinned. I glared at him and said angrily, “Don't grin at me! What am I going to do?!”

“I don't know but I'm just glad you don't like him,” he said happily and opened the door.

I pushed past him out of the cupboard and gave him a dirty look. “Right, thanks for your help!” I said sarcastically before I stomped off towards my Charms class.

Gee, I'm doing a lot of stomping lately. Stomping is exercise right?

The rest of the day dragged on. I got to practice my awesome auror moves while trying to avoid the Marauder’s and Aiden. I'm pretty sure they all saw me at one point or another leaping behind a wall a second too late. Oh well.

Thankfully I didn't have Potions or Muggle Studies today so I didn't have to sit next to Remus or Aiden. Though I have come to the awful conclusion that I will have to talk to Aiden at some point. I would rather that point be later than sooner but knowing my luck it will be any second now.

I kept glancing over my shoulder suspiciously, looking for Aiden or maybe the Marauder's lurking behind me while I walked with Lily and Alice back to the common room.

“- and so Frank asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him!” I just caught the end of Alice's conversation and momentarily forgot about the possibly lurking boys.

“That's great Alice!” I said happily, grinning at her. She blushed and shrugged her shoulders like it was no big deal.

“Oh don't act all cool, we know you are excited!” Lily said, smirking and nudging Alice with her elbow.

“Okay so I am!” Alice said in a high pitched squeal. We were all laughing when a Munchkin suddenly appeared. I swear these little first years can pop up out of nowhere!

“Shaylee!” the boy said, slightly panting like he had been running. “I am supposed to give this to you.” He pulled out a small seed and put it in the palm of my hand.

We all stared at it. I didn't know what to say. A seed?

“Uh, thank you?” I said, completely confused.

“Oh it's not from me,” the Munchkin said, looking embarrassed at the thought. “It's from the Marauder’s!”

Before I could reply, the little seed in my palm trembled and suddenly it began to sprout. At first it was just the long stems before the buds of flowers grew and slowly blossomed into the most beautiful bunch of flowers I had ever seen.

We all stood, stunned, looking at the bunch of flowers that I now clutched in my hand. Lily and Alice looked like they were just about to burst. Suddenly they broke out into giggles and loud 'AWWS!'

Well crap. Now I can't be mad at them! Well played Marauder’s, well played.

* * *

“Shaylee, will you please go and make up with the Marauder's already?” Lily asked me, slightly exasperated, while us girls sat at our favourite homework table, our Muggle Studies homework open in front of us. We were supposed to be making a list of the things we will be taking camping with us. Lily's list said all sorts of ridiculous things like torches, tents and sleeping bags. My list so far said: I will not be going camping because camping sounds awful.

“Yeah, they have been staring over here for the last hour. They are very distracting,” Alice said but winked at me.

I glanced over at the Marauder's for about the millionth time to see them staring back at me. They all had puppy dog faces on and what little anger I had left quickly vanished. Damn those Marauder's and my inability to be angry at them!

“Fine,” I sighed and made my way over to the boy's table.

“Thank you for the flowers,” I said in a way of greeting and their faces brightened at the fact that I wasn't angry any more. “Who did that amazing growth charm?”

“It was nothing, really,” he said, looking sort of embarrassed but also pleased. My heart melted and I wondered how I was ever mad at him.

* * *

After another restless night sleep, Lily and Alice dragged me kicking and screaming to our Potions class. Once there, I realised there is no escape. Maybe I should try to give myself a pep talk again?

Okay, four boys down, one to go. The hardest one. Merlin, will you, for once, please tell me what to say? Because I am pretty sure that if left up to me I will say something awful and Aiden will most likely curse me. Or cry. God! What if he cries!? I don't do well with crying. I just sort of hover around awkwardly saying stupid things like, 'Umm... do you want a piece of toast?'

I don't want to tell Aiden that I don't fancy him like he fancies me but I have to sit next to him. I take a deep breath and follow Lily into the classroom. Aiden is already at our usual desk and just the sight of him makes my heart beat faster.

“Hey Aiden,” I say overly cheerful as I slide into my seat. He looks over at me and smiles that amazing smile of his. What was I going to tell him again? I seem to have momentarily forgotten...

“Hey babe,” he says, using his affectionate nickname of sorts for me. “I didn't get a chance to talk to you yesterday...” he continues, looking at me expectantly.

“Oh!” I attempt to say casually. “Sorry about that! I didn't see you all day!” Lie. Big, big lie.

“Oh really, that's too bad. I saw you,” he said giving me a knowing look. “A lot actually. Though usually it was only for a second before you jumped into a broom cupboard or a crowd of first years.”

Oh poo.

“Look Aiden-” I started but he put his hand up to stop me.

“It's okay Shaylee,” he said in a low voice with a sad smile. “I get it okay? I know I surprised you when I kissed you and I'm sorry. I should have waited and found out how you felt before I did anything. I just don't want us to be awkward. We can still be friends right?” His voice was so sincere and sweet that I almost started to wonder why I didn't like him...

Then Remus walked past our desk, gave me a small smile and I remembered.

“Of course we can still be friends Aiden!” I said and grinned at him. He smiled back at me as Professor Slughorn started the lesson.

Well that went better than expected!

I was in a good mood all through Potions, Aiden and I back to our usual banter. The only thing that was annoying me was Emily, half of the terrible Em and Em’s. For the last few Potions lessons she had been sitting next to Remus and I strongly disliked her for it. She was always giving me nasty smirks and I wanted to curse her hair to fall out.

Today she was in full-on flirt mode. She kept touching Remus and fluttering her eyelashes. Personally, I thought it made her look like she had something in her eye and she had to keep touching him because she couldn't see if he was still there or not. Do boys like that sort of thing? Surely not.

The lesson went pretty fast and I made plans with Aiden for tomorrow to do our homework together. I had just waved goodbye to Aiden, who was heading off to Transfiguration. I was waiting for Lily and Alice to come out of the Potions room when Emma stormed out of the room and pushed past me.

I looked back into the classroom and saw Sirius shrugging to whatever James had just said him. They made their way towards me and both smiled at me.

“Hey you,” Sirius said casually and slung his arm around my shoulders and began walking, dragging me along with him.

“Hey!” I protested and tried, and failed, to stop him. “I was waiting for Alice and Lily!”

“Oh we told them you would catch up with them at lunch,” James said and smirked at me. Oh this can't be good.

Wanting to steer the conversation away from what I knew they wanted to talk about, I quickly asked “What was up with Emma? She practically pushed me over to get past me.”

“Oh that was nothing. I broke up with her and she got a little upset,” Sirius shrugged and started to ask me something but I cut him off.

“Why did you break up with her?” Not that I particularly cared but I wanted to keep him distracted.

“She heard a rumor about you and Sirius and then she called you... a few mean names so Sirius dumped her. It was great!” James said and laughed.

That little... Wait, Sirius stuck up for me? Aww! See, this is why it is so hard to angry with any of them. They're a lot sweeter than they let on.

“Thanks Sirius,” I said softly to him and he just squeezed my shoulder in reply.

“Enough stalling!” Sirius said grinning down at me. “What happened with McKinnen?”

We were in the entrance hall now and it was crowded with students going to lunch. I stopped and the two boys stopped with me.

Rolling my eyes and sighing in defeat I said, “Nothing happened with Aiden. He was really great about it actually. He apologized for kissing me and asked if we could be friends. It went a lot better than I expected,” I expected them to be happy with that but I was surprised at James and Sirius' reaction.

They stared at me for a second before James burst out, “Oh he is good! We should have known!”

Confused, I asked, “What are you talking about?”

“It's obvious isn't it?” Sirius said, looking down at me, his arm still around my shoulders. “He's playing the good guy routine!”

“What? No he isn't! He IS a good guy!” I said defensively. James started to say something but I cut him off. “I just stopped being mad at you...” I said warningly and he closed his mouth and said nothing.

I smiled and pushed what they had said about Aiden to the back of mind. I had a feeling it would nag at me later but I had more important things to think about.

“So...” I tried to say casually as we began walking again. “Where are Remus and Peter?” I just threw Peter's name in there so it wouldn't seem as obvious.

James and Sirius exchanged knowing looks.

“Peter said he was going to walk Maisey to lunch,” Sirius said smoothly.

“And Remus?” I prompted.

“He got held up in Potions,” James said evasively. “Who is excited for lunch?” I know a subject changer when I hear one.

Now I was suspicious.

“By who?” I asked, ignoring his question, though I was pretty hungry. We were in the great hall now and I tried not to notice all the looks that Sirius and I were getting. He didn't even seem to notice them.

“Oh no one,” Sirius said and began walking faster towards the Gryffindor table. “I hope they have pie!”

I stopped, forcing Sirius to stop with me. James glanced back over his shoulder at us before giving Sirius a 'You're on your own’ look and hurried to find a seat.

“Sirius...” I said in my best persuasive voice.

He looked down at me and gave a sigh of defeat. “Okay, okay! Emily stopped him and said she had something to talk to him about,”

My face fell and so did my stomach. All sorts of horrible things flashed through my head, mostly visions of Emily attacking Remus with her mouth and him not shoving her away and calling her a horrible kisser.

“But that doesn't mean anything!” Sirius said hurriedly, dragging me off to sit next to James so we weren't standing in the middle of the hall causing a scene. “He doesn't like her Shaylee, trust me.”

I wanted to believe him but I couldn't be sure if he was only saying that for my benefit. I cleared my throat and looked away from him. “It's none of my business anyway,” I tried to say in a convincing voice. “Oh good, here comes Lily and Alice!” I waved to them and they came and sat opposite us.

“We had Muggle Studies homework?” James asked, nearly choking on his chicken.

We laughed at his reaction before I suddenly realised that I hadn’t done my homework either, at least not properly.

Sirius stopped laughing suddenly as well and Lily said, “Let me guess, none of you have done your homework.”

“Er, well I guess you could say that…” Sirius said, digging around in his bag for some parchment and a quill. “What was it again? I have momentarily forgotten,” he said, giving Lily his most dazzling smile. She seemed unfazed by it, though many other girls practically swooned off their chairs.

Lily rolled her eyes and asked, “What lesson do you have next?”

“A free lesson!” James said as fast as he could and I could almost see a hint of a blush appear on his cheeks. James around Lily really was the cutest thing ever. “I mean, Sirius and I have a free lesson,” he cleared his throat and tried to sound casual.

I swear I saw Lily give the tiniest smile before she turned to me and Alice. “What about you two?”

“Care of Magical Creatures,” Alice said gloomily.

Lily sighed and said, “Fine, I will do yours, but only this once!”

Alice grinned at Lily and thanked her before she whispered to me, “She’s been saying that since first year!”

Before I could do more than laugh at Alice’s comment, Remus and Emily walked into the hall. My laugh automatically cut off and my eyes narrowed on their own accord.

Emily was chattering away to Remus and he was smiling and nodding back to whatever she was saying. I didn’t realise that I was stabbing my piece of chicken with my fork until Sirius put his hand on mine to stop me. He raised his eyebrows at me and I quickly stopped.

Emily waved cheerfully to Remus before she practically skipped off to sit with Emma. Remus made his way towards us and I began shoveling food into my mouth so I didn’t have to look at him.

“There he is!” James said loudly and moved over so there was enough room for him to squeeze in. “Sorry mate but we’re going to have to leave you to eat on your own.”

Remus was piling food onto his plate and looked at James quizzically.

“We were all a bit slack when it came to our Muggle Studies homework so the lovely Lily has agreed to help us out!” James said, barely hiding his eagerness.

We had all begun to stand up, Alice to go to her Magical Creatures class and I was going to tag along with the boys and Lily to do my homework, when Sirius pushed me back down onto the bench.

“Why don’t you stay and keep Remus company Shaylee?” Sirius asked in his smooth talking voice. “I’m sure he won’t mind helping you with those camping questions while he eats.”

I sat glaring up at Sirius who was smirking at me. Ohhh I hate him! There cannot be a more obvious way of saying, ‘Shaylee fancies the pants off you Remus!’ than what Sirius just said. I had the impulse to get up and hex him, but him, along with the others, were already halfway out of the hall.

Okay Shaylee, no big deal. Sirius has just practically told Remus you like him, but everything is okay. Just act natural!

“So… I see you’re having the chicken. Me too,” I gestured to my half empty plate before I realised how idiotic I sounded.

Please Merlin, let me die.

Remus smiled brilliantly at me and said, “Yeah, it’s pretty good.”

Well this isn’t weird, not even awkward or anything. I mean we are only sitting here in silence, not being able to think of something to talk about…

I can’t stand the silence!

“So are you excited for the camping trip this weekend?” I asked the first thing that came to mind. Good work for once brain!

“I am actually. I can’t wait to see how everyone goes without using magic,” he said and grinned at me.

“We aren’t going to be allowed to use magic?!” I asked, an appalled look on my face. “But… but… We will all die!” Okay, so I may have sounded a tad dramatic but this is wilderness we’re talking about! The Hogwarts grounds counts as the wilderness okay!

Remus was laughing, in a nice way, and I just wanted to listen to him laugh over and over again. It had a sort of rough and soft mixture to it and I was glad I could make him laugh.

Remus and I chatted until the tabled cleared of all food but chose to stay sitting at the Gryffindor table. I couldn’t believe how naturally I could talk to Remus! I mean sure I said mostly stupid things but he didn’t seem to mind, even found what I said funny. Yeah, I can’t believe it either.

I was a little worried that it would be awkward, Remus and I alone together. It was the first time that we were really alone since the almost kiss. But Remus didn’t seem awkward, in fact he seemed very relaxed and quite happy. Though I couldn’t help noticing that he looked ill still, perhaps worse than yesterday, and I felt worried for him.

“So you needed some help with what items to bring camping?” Remus asked, his warm breath tickling my cheeks. He had gotten a lot closer than I realised and I felt myself leaning toward him involuntarily.

“Yeah,” I said distractedly. Before I could stop myself, I reached my hand up and softly brushed my fingertips over the purplish bags under his eyes. He froze in his seat but didn’t move away.

Have I completely lost my mind? What am I doing?! It’s almost as if when I’m with Remus I forget that I am this awkward, bumbling girl. I just feel so comfortable with him that I don’t even realise I’m doing all these bold things like almost kissing him and stroking his face.

Clearly there is something wrong with me.

“You haven’t been sleeping,” I said in a quiet voice, all thoughts gone except for the fact that Remus looked ill.

Remus’ eyes momentarily closed and one of his hands reached up to cover mine, still tracing under his eye.

“Are you okay? You have looked ill for days…” I said in an even softer voice. My fingers tingled under the touch of his hand. I don’t know what is happening but I didn’t want it to stop.

At my words his eyes flew open and he looked almost shocked to see me so close. He didn’t leap away like last time but instead he lowered my hand to the table before sliding away from me. I didn’t know if I should feel hurt or embarrassed.

“Yeah I’m fine! Just NEWT classes and all that,” he said brightly and he pulled out his Muggle Studies homework.

Sighing, I got out some parchment and started asking Remus questions about camping.

* * *

“Good job everyone! These lists will come in very handy this weekend. We will be gathering our supplies together at the end of Friday’s lesson. You’re free to go,” Professor Verona said and waved cheerfully at us.

“He is so bloody cheerful!” I said to Remus under my breath as we both packed up our bags and began walking towards the door. After our weird little moment at the Gryffindor table, everything had returned to normal between us. I didn’t really know what to think of that but I pushed that thought out of my head. I seemed to be doing that a lot today.

Remus and I were laughing together when the others caught up to us. Sirius waggled his eyebrows at me and I glared at him. He pretended to look innocent and came to walk beside me. Like usual, he slung his arm around my shoulders and I didn’t bother to shake him off.

Lily was talking animatedly to James as we all walked towards the Gryffindor common room and I couldn’t help smiling at the sight of them.

I nudged Sirius and nodded towards James and Lily. “It is only a matter of time,” I said quietly and we both smirked.

“How was Remus?” Sirius asked, his mouth practically touching my ear as he bowed his head to whisper to me.

I glared at him again but I wasn’t really angry and he knew that. I shrugged my shoulders in a casual sort of way but I couldn’t stop the dejected frown that slipped onto my face. Sirius saw it and frowned.

“Laugh casually as if I have said something really hilarious!” Sirius whispered to me, his mouth a lot closer to my ear this time. An involuntary shiver ran through me at the feeling.

I looked at him puzzled for a second and he widened his eyes as if to say ‘go on!’ Totally confused, I gave the best laugh I could and even said, “Oh Sirius!” And you thought I couldn’t act!

My heart did a flip flop when I stopped laughing and noticed that half of the girls in the crowded corridor were glaring at me. Was Sirius trying to make girls jealous? Was he trying to get me killed? I was just about to lecture him when I noticed Remus glancing at us.

His face was dark and closed off, not at all like his usually friendly face. Sirius ruffled my hair affectionately as we all continued to walk. I heard Remus scoff quietly before he announced loudly that he needed to go to the library. He quickly walked off in the opposite direction, not even looking at me or Sirius once.

I looked after him, stunned. Then it clicked. This was what Sirius wanted to happen! I stopped abruptly; bringing Sirius to a stop with me. The others glanced back at us but I waved them forwards. They shrugged and continued walking. I pulled Sirius into an empty classroom, not caring about the looks we were getting.

“What is wrong with you?!” I practically shouted. “Why did you tell me to do that?! Why did I go along with that?! Why?!” I was shouting and stomping around the room like a crazy person and Sirius had to stand in front of me to stop me.

“Will you calm down!” Sirius said in a not so calming voice. “I’m helping you!”

“Helping me? How is making Remus think we are dating helping me?!” I asked incredulously.

“Because now we know he likes you,” Sirius said simply.

“You-” but I stopped suddenly as I took notice of Sirius’ words. “What do you mean?” I asked in quite a different tone.

“Isn’t it obvious? Look how jealous he got, stomping off to the library,” I gave him a skeptical look and he continued. “Look Shaylee, I’ve known Remus for a long time alright? He doesn’t date and he has his reasons but I can tell he is lonely. I’ve tried to set him up before but he was having none of it. Then you come along and you so obviously like him and personally I felt a bit bad for you because I didn’t think he would like you back,” I frowned at him and he hurried to right himself.

“Not that you aren’t attractive! Merlin, you’re beautiful and if you weren’t so head over heels for my mate I would try and date you myself!” he said and waggled his eyebrows suggestively at me. I laughed and rolled my eyes.

“But seriously, the more we all started becoming friends, the more I noticed the little hints that Remus may like you,” Sirius saw my skeptical look and said, a little exasperated. “Like the fact that he kept glancing at you, searching for you in all our classes and in the corridors. Or the fact that he started talking about you, how nice you are and how funny he thinks you are,”

My heart rate had started to speed up at Sirius’ words. Could what he is saying be true? I wanted to believe it was but I didn’t know if I could.

“And then that whole thing with McKinnen! We were all a little put out by it but him more so than any one. He even wanted to prank him! Remus goes along with most pranks but he is never the one to initiate one. So when he said that I knew, but I had to make sure before I told you because I didn’t want to be wrong and have you get hurt,” Sirius said in a soft voice and I realised that I truly loved him as a friend.

“So you wanted to see if he would get jealous…” I said, trailing off. My mind racing a million miles an hour trying to process everything.

“And he did. He got very jealous,” Sirius said, grinning at me.

If what Sirius is saying is true, and it was sure sounding like it was, then that meant…

Remus Lupin likes me.

Oh Merlin.

A/N: So we find out that Remus likes Shaylee! Will he tell her or do anything about it? Tell me your thoughts! Also, what are we thinking about Aiden and his 'nice guy' approach?

Thaaaaank you everyone for reading! This is my longest chapter yet. I wanted to cut it off around the 5000 word mark but couldn't find a good place to leave it so I thought I would give you guys a little bit of extra lovin'. Haha.

Like always, thank you so much for all of your reviews and the lovely things you all say! I love reading them and they make writing worth it. xx

P.S: Planning on a dramatic next chapter. Hopefully I will stick with what I want to happen and not randomly decide Shaylee suddenly falls in love with Snape! :P

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there was this girl. She was super popular and pretty and all the boys wanted her. She had a teeny tiny crush on this amazing guy named Remus Lupin. Of course he liked her back because who wouldn’t like this girl?

Anyway, once she found out that Remus Lupin liked her, she eagerly went to her Muggle Studies class the next day with the hope of seeing him. As she sat there waiting for him to ride up on his majestic dragon and whisk her away so they could live happily ever after, she thought of all the things she wanted to say to him. It mostly consisted of how much she liked his laugh and his smile and his… well let’s just say she liked everything about him.

The only problem was, he didn’t show up! The girl waited all lesson, her hope slowly growing smaller and smaller. At the final bell she lost all hope and came to the conclusion that she would die alone known forever as the ‘Crazy Niffler Lady.’

The end.

“His majestic dragon?” a deep voice filled with laughter said from behind me. I spun around and saw Sirius holding a piece of parchment, doubled over with laughter.

Oh dear God.

“Give it back!” I shouted, not caring that most of the students in the crowded corridor were looking at us.

Muggle Studies had just finished and I was sulking my way to Transfiguration. I had spent most of the lesson drowning out Professor Verona, who was ridiculously excited for the camping trip, by writing a very depressing story on a spare piece of parchment. When the bell had rung I had quickly shoved it into my bag, planning to throw it into the common room fire. It totally wasn’t about me or anything…

Okay so it was! And I lied about most of it. Cut me some slack though. If a girl can’t be super popular and pretty in her own story, when can she be?

The one part I wish I had lied about was the part that Remus wasn’t in class. He skipped class! I knew he was sick! I had to stop myself from sprinting off to the Hospital Wing armed with chicken soup and chocolate.

“Get off me you ’Crazy Niffler Lady!’” Sirius shouted/laughed as he tried to shake me off. I may have lost my head completely and tried to wrestle the piece of parchment away from him. I was losing horribly.

“Give it back and I will… you big… idiot!” I puffed and panted with the effort.

I somehow managed to stomp on Sirius’ toe and while he was distracted, I snatched the piece of paper from his hands.

“You stomped on my toe!” Sirius said with a shocked expression on his face.

"You stole my… completely fictional story!” I snapped before I turned on my heel and stomped off to Transfiguration, ignoring the looks I was getting.

* * *

Remus didn’t turn up in Transfiguration either which resulted in much pouting and sighing from me. So I decided to corner James after class and subtly ask him about Remus. Well at least I thought about being subtle. That went out the window pretty quickly.

“Hey James!” I said cheerfully as he was packing up his bag, his desk partner having already left.

James jumped slightly but smiled when he saw it was me. He gave a ‘go on’ wave to Sirius and Peter who were waiting by the door. Sirius raised his eyebrows questioningly at me but I ignored him. I am never speaking to him again.

Never ever.

Well, maybe.

“Hey Shaylee, what’s u-” James started but I cut him off. This is where my subtle plan fell apart.

“Where’s Remus?” I asked a lot more forcibly than I planned. God Shaylee, get it together!

James laughed and smirked at me. “I should have known. He’s just feeling a little ill. He should be back tomorrow or the next day,”

James must of saw my worried look because he hurriedly said, “Don’t worry so much Shaylee!” and he patted my shoulder.

I was going to say something but was startled by Lily and Alice suddenly appearing. If I didn’t know any better, I would think Lily was looking suspiciously at James and me. I smiled at her and casually said, “Oh that reminds me James, Lily was just saying to me this morning how much fun she had doing your homework together!”

Lily looked like she was going to murder me but James looked over joyed.

“What? Really?!” James asked a little too excitedly.

I raised my eyebrows at Lily, willing her not to say something mean. She glared at me but eventually gave a sigh of defeat and said, “Yeah it wasn’t that bad.”

My work here is done.

Alice and I left James and Lily to it and we couldn’t help giggling the whole way to lunch.

When Alice and I got to the Great Hall, I scanned the Gryffindor table quickly but knew I wouldn’t find who I was looking for. Alice, on the other hand, found Frank and practically skipped off to sit next to him. I considered joining them but Frank was sitting near Sirius and I wasn’t quite ready to listen to his teasing.

Instead, I made my way over to the Slytherin table and found Aiden’s messy dark hair. He looked up from his plate as I neared and instant grins spread over both of our faces. He made room and I slid into the seat next to him.

I got a few weird looks from not only the Slytherines, but also from some of the other students. Gryffindor’s didn’t usually voluntarily sit at the Slytherin table. I ignored them and started piling my plate with food. I’m getting pretty good at this ignoring people thing!

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” Aiden asked me with one of his sly, sexy smiles.

I shrugged and replied, “Just thought I would have lunch with you today. This is the first time I’ve eaten at the Slytherin table. The hall looks weird from over here!” I said and Aiden laughed.

Aiden and I talked all through lunch and he even introduced me to two of his friends. There was Alex who was big, brawny and seemed to make every sentence into a sexual innuendo. Then there was Nathan who seemed a bit on the shy side and rather nice for a Slytherin. They didn’t hang around for long so it was mostly just me and Aiden.

Halfway through lunch I did look over at the Gryffindor table to see Sirius staring at us. He raised his eyebrows at me questioningly and I poked my tongue out at him. He glared and moodily began shoving potatoes into his mouth. I couldn’t help but smirk a little.

As we were getting up to head to our next classes I asked, “Are we still on to do our homework tonight?”

Aiden groaned and said, “I’m so sorry but Reed has scheduled last minute Quidditch practices for the rest of the week!”

I was surprised to realise that I was actually a little disappointed but I smiled and said, “Oh no worries! Another time then.”

“What about this weekend? Are you doing anything?” he asked as we made our way out of the hall.

I groaned and rolled my eyes. “Unfortunately, yes. I’m going camping!” I said with obvious fake enthusiasm. Aiden looked at me blankly. I laughed and explained it to him.

“That sounds awful!” he said and looked appalled at the thought. At last someone agrees!

Once we reached the Charms classroom for my next class, Aiden surprised me by giving me a hug. I had to sort of stand on my tip toes because he is so damn tall but it was a nice hug none the less. I smiled and waved to him as he headed off to Herbology.

I walked into the crowded classroom and looked around for a seat. I usually sat with Alice or Lily but Lily was sitting with James(!) and Alice was sitting with Frank. Thanks girls.

I groaned inwardly when I realised the only free seat was next to, you guessed it, Sirius.

Fantastic.

I grumpily sat in the seat next to him and tried to ignore him while Professor Flitwick explained the day’s lesson. We were supposed to be practicing our non-verbal cheering charms. I had already mastered the cheering charm last year. I had a lot of free time last year okay? I liked to sit in the library and use it on stressed out looking students.

And people say I’m not nice.

As the rest of the class paired off to practice on each other, I took out my text book and started reading the next chapter. I’m actually ignoring Sirius for once! This is amazing! What’s even more amazing is that I don’t feel annoyed at him anymore…

Wait a minute…

“Stop trying to cheer me up with your stupid cheering charm!” I snapped at Sirius who was staring intensely at me. He jumped at my reaction but almost immediately had a smirk on his face.

“I was just following our instructions,” he said innocently. I grit my teeth and resisted the urge to say something back.

* * *

That night after dinner the girls and I decided to claim the good chairs by the fire before the Marauders could get them. I also wanted to destroy my little story without anyone else stealing it, but mostly we just wanted to annoy the guys. We expected them to put up a fight but they were nowhere to be seen.

“Why is it so quiet?” Alice asked, halfway through her Defense essay. I had already finished it and so to amuse myself I thought it would be a good idea to hang my head upside down off my chair. It wasn’t a good idea. All the blood had rushed to my head and I was feeling a bit faint but I was stuck.

“Where do you suppose they are?” I asked from my upside down position. Lily and Alice looked over at me and gave me weird looks. Well at least I think they did, they are upside down after all.

“I don’t know,” Alice said and then frowned at me. “Are you okay? Your face has gone all red.”

“Oh yeah, I am fine,” I said unconvincingly.

“Why are you upside down?” Lily asked with laughter in her voice.

“Oh you know, just because,” I tried to say casually.

Before Alice or Lily could say anything else, I caught sight of three of the four Marauders quietly coming down the boy’s staircase.

Oh God! I am still upside down! Panicking at the sight of them, I wriggled around to try and right myself but I just ended up falling painfully off my chair.

Oww.

“Are you okay Shaylee?” Peter asked from above me. I looked up from my position on the ground to see Peter, James and Sirius looking down at me. Great.

I tried to laugh casually but it came out rather crazy sounding. “I’m fine!” I said and quickly got to my feet.

“If you say so,” Sirius said, smirking at me. Ohhh I hate him!

I planned to say all sorts of mean things to Sirius and James also because he was laughing at me, but before I could the three of them had already started towards the portrait hole.

“Hey!” I said to their retreating back. “Where are you lot going? It’s nearly curfew!” Merlin, I sound like a prefect.

“Not that it is any of your business,” Sirius said in a teasing tone. “But we fancy a bit of… food. So if you don’t mind…”

“I do mind actually!” I said and took a step towards them. “Can I come?” I asked and was surprised by Sirius’ reaction.

“No!” he said rather forcibly and he must of saw the shock on my face because he hurriedly continued, “I mean, no we wouldn’t want to get you into trouble!” He smiled kindly at me and before I could say anything, he had followed James and Peter out of Common Room.

“What just happened?” I turned and asked Lily and Alice who were looking at me with the same confused looks. They both shrugged so I continued, “Why didn’t you stop them Lil’s? You’re head girl after all!”

Lily looked uncomfortable and went back to scribbling at her essay. “It’s their choice if they want to risk getting in trouble,” she said and then she changed the subject to the Defense essay.

As Lily and Alice chattered on about the essay, I couldn’t help thinking about the Marauders and what they were up to. What was up with Sirius’ weird reaction to me wanting to go with them? What had they been doing up in their dormitory all night? And why was Lily acting so weird?

Curious…

I didn’t get a chance to question Lily because she wouldn’t shut up about the bloody essay. But as I was climbing into bed I decided that I would get some answers.

Maybe tomorrow though… My bed is ridiculously comfortable.

* * *

I woke up in the morning to Lily throwing my uniform at me. Why can’t she be like a normal person and gently wake me up? Perhaps even sing me a nice song to get me into the morning spirit? But no, one morning it’s water in my face, the next it’s throwing clothes at me. Mental I tell you.

“I’m up, I’m up!” I grumbled as I rolled over and started to go back to sleep.

“If you don’t get up how are you going to know if Remus is feeling better enough to go to class?” Lily asked teasingly. I shot straight up before jumping out of bed and getting dressed quickly. I saw Lily’s smirk but ignored her. Don’t judge me.

Alice was slowly climbing out of her tangle of blankets, while Demelza had obviously already left. My day is better already.

Once we were all dressed and pretty, we walked together down to breakfast. We got to the Gryffindor table only to find three very tired looking Marauders. James had his elbow on the table with his chin resting in his palm, staring at him pumpkin juice. Peter was tiredly pushing his eggs around on his plate, while Sirius had his head on the table, his eyes closed.

No Remus though. Lily got me out of bed for this?!

Oh well, may as well have some fun.

“Wow, you guys look awful!” I said a little too cheerfully as we sat down next to them. Okay so I was a teeny bit happy to know that the almighty Marauders were capable of looking like the rest of us.

“Shut up,” Sirius said in an exhausted voice, not bothering to open his eyes.

“It’s your own fault for staying out so late,” I said, picking at a piece of bacon. “What were you guys doing again?” I asked casually, hoping to catch them off guard.

“Food,” was all Sirius said.

Well this is a dead end.

Lily, Alice and I all shared a look and decided to be nice and let them be. Lily did give James a slightly worried look but quickly covered it by helping herself to some toast.

Breakfast was actually quiet for once. Sirius still hadn’t opened his eyes and I suspected he was quietly snoring. Peter had actually taken a few bites of his eggs. James had stopped staring at his pumpkin juice and had instead started staring at Lily who, surprisingly, didn’t seem to mind that much. I did see her blushing though. Only a matter of time…

As the hall started emptying, Lily and Alice got up and started poking James and Peter into action. They grumbled but slowly got up. Sirius on the other hand was having none of it.

I poked him in the ribs. I ruffled his hair. I even held his nose so he would definitely have to wake up but he just swatted my hand away grumpily and told me to go away.

“You’re on your own,” Alice laughed as she left the hall with the others. Gee, thanks guys.

Hmm, this will take some work.

“Sirius…” I whispered into his ear and he shifted slightly.

“What?” He asked in a moody voice.

“If you get up…” I said, this time getting closer to his ear, trying not to laugh.

“Mmm…?” was his reply.

“I will give you something…” I said in a breathy sort of voice and I felt Sirius freeze.

“Wh-what do you mean?” he asked, much more alert now.

“Anything you want,” I said, barely controlling my laughter from my attempt at being sexy, but I managed to hold it in.

“I’m up!” he said and sat up straight. I couldn’t help it; I burst out laughing while I grabbed my bag and stood up. Sirius stared at me for a second, his brain having to catch up before he said, “Oh you are mean! I will get you back for that!”

He sulkily grabbed his bag and we began walking out of the hall. “I thought you didn’t like me like that,” I teased, enjoying teasing him for once. He glared at me and rolled his eyes.

“You know I don’t. But I’m a guy, as if I wasn’t going to react to some girl whispering in my ear like that! You could have looked like a hag and I would have probably done the same thing!” Sirius said grumpily.

I laughed and happily walked along next to him, thought it was a little hard because he was taking long strides in an effort to get away from me. Well too bad. He can get a taste of his own medicine for once.

“You know, if you keep being mean to me I won’t tell you what Remus asked me…” Sirius said, his mood lightening considerably because he knew he had me.

“What? What did he say?!” I asked, stopping so I could look at Sirius to see if he was being serious or not. He stopped walking and smiled innocently at me.

Oh Merlin.

“You said you would do anything,” he said in an overdramatic seductive voice, clearly mocking me.

“What does that have to do with anything?!” I asked impatiently.

“If you agree to make good on that promise I will tell you,” Sirius said simply and leant against the wall.

I stared opened mouthed at him. Was he for real? I’m not doing anything he says! Never, ever, ever!

Ever.

“Okay,” I said before my brain could stop my mouth. Crap. “But nothing… sexual or embarrassing!” I quickly continued.

“Well that was easy!” he said and laughed at the look on my face.

“Just tell me!” I practically shouted.

“Okay, okay calm down. Geez anyone would think you wanted me to tell you,” he said and laughed again.

“I am going to curse you!” I said and actually considered getting my wand out but thought better of it. If I really did curse him I would never know what Remus may, or may not have said. You win this time Sirius Black.

“Okay fine I’ll tell you. Well you know the other day when Remus went off to the library and then skipped dinner? Well he went up to the hospital wing that night because he was feeling ill,” he saw the worried look on my face and reassured me, “Don’t worry Shaylee, he’s fine. Madam Pomfrey just won’t let him leave yet. I think she may be in love with him,” he joked and I rolled my eyes. He smirked but continued, “So we were all up in our dorm and just before he left he pulled me aside and asked me straight out, ‘Are you and Shaylee dating?’”

My stomach did a weird flip flop thing and I eagerly asked, “What did you say?!”

“Well of course I said we were madly in love with each other and we were planning a January wedding!” he saw the horrified look on my face and laughed himself silly. “Of course I didn’t say that! What did you think I was going to say? I really said, ‘No we’re not, we’re just good friends who enjoy having a laugh!’ He did look a little suspicious at first but I explained to him that you’re not my type. I like them dumb and shallow,” he joked and I playfully punched him in the arm.

“Did he say anything else?” I asked tentatively. I hope to Merlin he didn’t say something like ‘Oh well that is too bad because I don’t like Shaylee in the slightest and if she was dating you maybe she wouldn’t stalk me so much.’

Please don’t have said that.

“He just seemed really pleased and said ‘good’ before he went off to the hospital wing,” Sirius smiled at me and we began walking towards Herbology. I couldn’t tell if I was happy, scared or amazed that Remus seemed to care if I was dating anyone. All of the above I think.

***

Remus wasn’t in Herbology or Ancient Runes, nor was he at lunch or Muggle Studies. In fact he wasn’t in any classes and by the time dinner time rolled around I was in a down sort of mood. I had gotten used to seeing him every day. I didn’t realise how much I missed him when he was gone.

I slid into my usual seat next to Sirius at the Gryffindor table and sighed quietly at the empty place on my other side that Remus usually occupied.

“So have you guys got your stuff packed for camping tomorrow?” asked Lily cheerfully as she dropped into the seat next to James. I don’t think James will ever stop being surprised when Lily voluntarily sits next to him.

“Camping is tomorrow?!” Peter asked, nearly choking on his pumpkin juice. Sirius, James, Alice and I all looked at each other with alarm. I had completely forgotten about camping!

“Don’t you lot ever listen?” Lily asked irately. I was tempted to say, ‘No, that’s what you’re for!’ but Lily had already continued on. “We have our Friday classes and since Muggle Studies is last, Professor Verona said we are supposed to bring all of our clothes and stuff with us to our lesson because we are going straight from class to the grounds.”

I stared at her. “But what about dinner?!” I asked, horrified at the thought of missing my favourite meal.

“I guess we are cooking dinner ourselves,” Lily said shrugging.

Oh God.

“Eat as much as you can now!” Sirius whispered to me and I laughed. But then I seriously considered it. I can’t cook with magic let alone without it! If it were left up to me we would all starve!

Just as I was about to start shoveling food into my mouth, someone sat down beside me.

I had to stop myself from leaping on him and snogging and/or hugging him to death. I managed, but just.

“Remus!” I said in a ridiculously happy voice. God if anyone didn’t know I liked him, they did now.

He smiled at me and I felt like it was the first time talking to him again. My heart sped up and I got butterflies in my stomach.

“Good to see you up and about mate!” James said grinning at Remus who grinned back. He certainly looked like he had been ill but he looked much better than the last time I saw him.

“It’s good to be out! Madame Pomfrey was threatening to keep me another night but I charmed her into letting me go,” he joked and we all laughed. I hadn’t seen Remus in such a good mood before. It made me instantly happy.

“Just in time to see Shaylee freak out about camping and potentially starving” Sirius joked and grinned at his friend. Remus laughed and grinned back at him and if I’m not mistaken, even gave him a small nod.

I will never understand these boys.

“Oh shut up!” I said but laughed along with everyone else.

Dinner went by with everyone in a good mood, largely because Remus was back. Lily and Alice kept giving me ridiculous looks which made me giggle. At one point, Lily had waggled her eyebrows at me which caused me to burst out laughing. The boys all looked at us weirdly and James even muttered ‘Bloody mental’ under his breathe while shaking his head.

After dinner we all began a slow walk back towards our common room. We were all full and everyone was talking to each other loudly. I was walking in between Remus and Sirius and they were taking turns to playfully push me around.

“You two are so unfair! Just because you’re both freakishly tall does not mean you can push me around!” I tried to say sternly but ruined the effect by smiling.

“Uhh, I think it does!” Remus said and grinned at me. I poked my tongue out at him and he smiled.

“Shaylee!” I turned at the sound of my name and saw Aiden waving at me from the bottom of the stairs.

Uh oh.

Remus and Sirius stopped walking and stared down at Aiden, who looked uncomfortable.

Oh god! What am I going to do?! I can’t just ignore Aiden. But talking to him will make the others annoyed. Ohhh Merlin, why do you do this to me just when I get Remus back?!

Making up my mind, I smiled down at Aiden and said “Hey! I’ll be down in a minute.”

I looked apologetically at Remus and Sirius who, just as I guessed, looked annoyed. “I’ll meet you guys in the common room,” I said to them. Sirius just rolled his eyes and walked off after the others. Remus on the other hand stared at me for a moment. It felt like he was searching for something. Oh boy. Don’t look at me like that!

“See you in the common room,” Remus said quietly after a moment. He turned and followed Sirius.

What was that all about?! Boys are so confusing!

I frowned at Remus’ retreating back but quickly dismissed his weird look. I met Aiden at the bottom of the stairs where he was waiting with a smile.

“I thought you had Quidditch practice?” I asked him.

“Reed canceled at the last minute,” Aiden said rolling his eyes. “I need to talk to you…” he said quietly and trailed off.

I looked at him worriedly at the sound of his tone. “Is everything okay?” I asked and put my hand on his arm comfortingly.

“Do you think we could go somewhere and talk?” he asked and I nodded.

* * *

Remus’ POV:

“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,” I muttered as I touched the Marauders Map with the tip of my wand. I slowly scanned the map full of moving dots for Shaylee’s name. It took a moment but I finally found hers and, unfortunately, McKinnen’s as well.

I frowned at the map when I saw that they were in a rarely used classroom on the third floor. What are they doing there?

Actually, I don’t want to know.

…

Okay so I do want to know.

The night of the full moon wasn’t too bad. The others had met me at the Shrieking Shack as usual and we had gone on another adventure. I always feel guilty about lying to Dumbledore before the full moon but my gratitude for my friends always wins out in the end. We all enjoyed ourselves and no one got hurt so I was as happy as a werewolf could be during the full moon.

Now that the full moon has passed I can finally try and figure out how I feel about Shaylee. I have a feeling this isn’t going to be easy. I know one thing for sure though. I do not like the fact that this McKinnen bloke and Shaylee are in an empty classroom together.

“What are you doing mate?” Sirius asked from the doorway to our dormitory. I jumped and quickly turned around. I had been so deep in thought that I hadn’t even heard the door open.

“Uh, nothing,” I said, stuffing the map into my pocket. “Just looking for my Charms textbook. I still can’t find it!” I said and laughed nervously. I have never been good at lying to any of my best mates.

Sirius gave me a look that clearly said he didn’t believe me. “Right…” he said.

Before I could say anything, Peter had entered the room, throwing his school bag onto his bed. “What’s going on?” Peter asked as he looked from Sirius to me.

“Moony is acting very strange,” Sirius said and smirked at me.

“I am not!” I protested and to avoid looking at Sirius, I began looking for my Charms book. It was no use of course because it had been gone for days and I was sure it wasn’t up here, but Sirius didn’t know that.

“Alright, what’s this then?” Sirius asked and before I could stop him, he grabbed the map that had been slightly sticking out of my pocket.

“The Map?” Sirius asked in confusion. “What do you need this for?”

“I- Uh- Was just looking-” I tried to think of an excuse but before I could, I saw the recognition register on Sirius’ face.

“You were looking for Shaylee!” Sirius said loudly and I resisted the urge to clamp my hand down over his mouth to shut him up.

“I was not!” I protested and tried to snatch the map back from him but he danced out of my reach. Damn him and his Quidditch reflexes!

“Okay, okay so I was looking for her,” I said and tried to sound casual. “I just wanted to make sure she was alright. I don’t trust McKinnen, that’s all.”

“Neither do I,” Sirius said but continued to smirk at me.

“Look where they are,” I said a little bitterly, while trying to ignore Sirius’ knowing smirk.

Peter stood next to Sirius and they both peered at the map. Peter didn’t seem very phased but Sirius’ face darkened and I knew he disapproved just as much as I did, which to be honest, made me a little worried. I tried to remind myself that Sirius had sworn he wasn’t interested in Shaylee, but I guess I still had my doubts.

“What do you think they’re doing?” Peter asked as he sat back onto his bed.

Sirius and I glanced at each other but neither of us wanted to say what we really thought.

“Probably just having a casual duel or something,” Sirius said before he muttered, “Mischief managed.”

I sat down heavily on my bed and ran my hand through my hair. How can one girl have such an effect on me? One minute I don’t know if I like her or not and then the next I feel sick because she might be snogging some bloke that is not me. As much as I wanted to believe Sirius’ theory, that Shaylee was kicking his butt at a duel, all I could picture was them snogging. Not a good mental image.

“Don’t worry mate,” Sirius said and I looked up to see him giving me a reassuring smile. “I know for a fact that she doesn’t like McKinnen. She told him so after he kissed her,” I remember him and James talking about it while we did our homework the other day, which had made me happy. Though I still wish the whole thing had never happened.

“It’s none of my business what they are doing,” I tried to say as if I really didn’t care as I got up from my bed and started towards the dormitory door. Sirius quickly got up and stood in front of me, blocking my way.

“Oh come on Moony!” Sirius said with a look of exasperation on his face. “You like her! It’s okay to admit it!”

Sighing in defeat, there really was no point in trying to deny it, I finally said aloud, “Fine! I like her!” And as I said it I knew it was true. There was no full moon hanging over my head and my thoughts were clear. I really liked Shaylee and I didn’t know what to do about it.

* * *

Shaylee’s POV:

“You know you had me worried for a while there,” I said laughingly as I gave Aiden a goodbye hug.

We had been sitting in one of the classrooms that barely got used on the third floor. Aiden had picked the spot after he told me he had to talk to me. I had been worried that something was seriously wrong but it turned out he was only joking. We had ended up sitting on opposite desks just talking and laughing and before we knew it a couple of hours had passed. I was beyond pleased that we could still be friends without any weirdness after the whole kiss incident.

“I know and I’m sorry,” Aiden said, releasing me from the hug. “I just wanted to make sure you would come with me. You were with your other friends after all…” he trailed off and I frowned at him.

“You don’t have to pretend for me to want to hang out with you!” I said and playfully hit him on the arm. “We’re friends and I’ll always have time for you.”

Aiden smiled at me, but not his usual friendly smile. This was more a sexy, slow smile and it made my heart rate pick up. Oh dear God please don’t kiss me again!

“We had better get back to our common rooms!” I said quickly and started for the door, trying to put some distance between us. I heard Aiden heavily sigh.

“Yeah I guess. It is way after curfew so be careful getting back,” Aiden said and he opened the door and peered out into the silent corridor.

“Yeah, you too. I’ll see you after my horror weekend of camping,” I said and groaned at the thought.

We both crept out into the corridor, Aiden going one way, me the other. I was nearing Gryffindor tower and thought I was actually going to make it back without anyone catching me, when I heard muffled talking. I froze and listened. It was coming from up ahead and I almost sighed out loud when I realised that in order to get to Gryffindor tower I had to go this way.

Just bloody great.

I quietly peered around the corner and nearly fell over with shock at the sight of James and Lily. Now usually seeing either of them would hardly shock me. Them together was a little more shocking but not too out there. What I was looking at right now took the cake.

They were standing very close together and Lily was not using her wand to beat him away. In fact, she seemed to be pulling him closer. Oh God! I don’t want to watch this! But before I pop back around the corner, James had grabbed hold of the back of Lily’s neck and pulled her face towards his. And Lily didn’t stop him! Lily kissed James back with just as much enthusiasm, if not more.

* * *

It was a good half an hour before I finally made it back to the common room. It wasn’t like I could just walk past James and Lily while saying, ‘Oh don’t mind me! Continue on!’

No.

So I ended up waiting in a nearby classroom, every now and then checking to see if the coast was clear. And let me tell you, those two can bloody snog! I guess it had been building up for six years but come on! You have to come up for air sometime! As happy as I was for James and Lily that they finally seemed to be together, I wanted to leave that cold classroom sometime tonight.

Finally, after what felt like a million and ten years, I heard two pairs of footsteps walk past my hiding place and I was free at last.

I told the Fat Lady the password and ignored her disapproving look before climbing through the portrait hole. The common room was empty, except for the Marauders, minus James. They all looked up at the sound of the door opening and all smiled at me as I made my way over to them.

“You guys are up late,” I said as I took the free seat next to Peter. I decided not to tell them about the whole James and Lily thing. If they wanted people to know, they would tell them when they were ready.

“We wanted to make sure you got back okay,” Remus said before an instant blush spread over his face.

It felt like my heart stopped before it fluttered back into life. Did he really just say that? Or am I just dreaming right now? I bloody hope not.

“You guys didn’t have to do that!” I said, trying to control my own blush. “Sorry I’m back so late. I know I said I would meet you guys back here, we just lost track of time.” You are doing a great job brain!

“Yes about that,” Sirius started and gave me a stern look. “What did McKinnen want?”

I frowned at him but he just smiled pleasantly at me. “Oh you know, he wanted to try and convert me into being a Slytherin and to spill all of your quidditch secrets,” I said with a serious face. They all looked at me horrified. I laughed and they all glared back. “He just wanted to hang out and talk!” I said and I swear I saw Remus give a small sigh of relief. Or maybe I imagined it because that’s what I wanted.

Just then the portrait hole opened and a very guilty looking Lily and James walked into the room. They froze when they saw us before quickly trying to act normal.

“Er, yes, well goodnight Potter. Remember to tell McGonagall that we can’t do prefect rounds over the weekend,” Lily said and hurried off towards the girl’s staircase.

“Oh, uh, yeah I’ll tell her tomorrow. Goodnight Evans,” James said in an attempt at his usual casual tone. He wasn’t fooling anyone.

A/N: Hello again! I know I said last chapter that this chapter would be dramatic... yeah, about that. This turned out to be more of a filler chapter than a dramatic, heart racing chapter with lots of explosions and a high speed car chase. But there was some James/Lily cuteness for all of you shippers! And a small look into what Remus was thinking after the full moon. Sorry about the filler chapter but I still hope you liked it!

I think you will be pleased and super shocked to know that the next chapter is already written! I know, it is amazing. It is the camping chapter so it's a long one. A whole bunch of stuff happens so make sure you keep an I eye out for it!

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The next day dragged on and on. If it wasn’t for the fact that I got to sit next to Remus in nearly every class, I would have thought it a boring day. I do have to admit though, I found it very amusing to watch James and Lily try and act normally around one another. I had tried all day to get Lily to tell me what had happened last night by dropping hints but she was having none of it. Her story was that they were doing their usual head boy and girl duties and that was that.

By the time our last lesson rolled around I was getting hungry and was looking forward to dinner. It took me a second to realise that we were not walking towards the Muggle Studies classroom like we should be, but instead towards Gryffindor tower.

Why are we going this way? Have I forgotten something?

Wait a minute…

Oh poo.

I forgot to pack my stuff for camping! After James and Lily had gone off to bed we had all said goodnight and followed. I even saw Lily putting things into a bag but I was already in my nice, comfy bed and hadn’t thought much of it. By the time she was done I’m sure I was dead asleep.

“Where are you going?” James shouted to me, amusement clear in his voice.

“I forgot to pack!” I shouted back frantically to the others as I ran off to the dormitory. I could hear them laughing but chose to ignore them. By the time Alice and Lily strolled into the room I had shoved half of my belongings into a bag, not even really noticing what was what.

“Do you really think you will need all this for a weekend of camping?” Alice asked with amusement clear on her face.

“I like to be prepared,” I said and snatched back the fluffy slipper she had picked up.

I struggled to close my bulging bag but in the end I managed to at least have some clothes to take with me. We all changed into ‘outdoor’ clothes. Alice and Lily were going for the ‘blend into nature’ look with green and brown colours. I, on the other hand, went for more of an ‘I have no bloody clue what to wear in the wilderness look’ which basically consisted of bright coloured shorts and an even brighter top.

Alice and Lily grabbed their neatly packed bags while I grabbed my ridiculously heavy misshaped bag and we met back up with the Marauders at the bottom of our staircase.

“Oh shut up. Can we go already?” I asked but smiled at Remus so he knew I was joking.

Once we reached the Muggle Studies classroom, I plunked my increasingly heavy bag onto a desk and looked around at everyone else. At least I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know how to dress for camping.

“Alright class!” Professor Verona said excitedly as he entered the room. “I’m happy to see that everyone has brought their camping gear with them!”

“Just barely,” I muttered to Remus and he laughed quietly.

“As you can see I have with me a bunch of other essential items that we will need. Now I want you all to get out your lists and start sorting out what other gear you will need to take with you. There are all sorts of tents that sleep different numbers of people so make sure you sort out who you will be sleeping next to before you pick a tent!”

“Pick a what?” I asked Remus as the rest of class began talking to each other.

“A tent,” Remus said and pointed to a pile of weird shaped canvas bags. “You know, the things we’re going to be sleeping in tonight.”

I looked at him like he had gone mental. “But…” I started, looking at the bags.

“You’ll see once we have them set up,” he said and laughed at the look on my face. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”

Lily and Alice were waving me over to the pile of camping gear so I gave Remus a small, but dazzling, smile and went over to them.

“I think this is a three person one,” Lily said picking up a medium sized bag. I hope she’s right because if not, she’s the one who is going to be sleeping outside.

“Don’t forget to pick a sleeping bag!” called Professor Verona, practically giddy with excitement. He is definitely mental.

I looked around for a sleeping bag. I spotted a pretty yellow one and went to grab it but at the same time someone else picked it up. I looked up and saw Jessica Russell, a very pretty Ravenclaw, was the one who had grabbed the same bag. I tried not to visibly cringe. She was one of the prettiest girls at Hogwarts. She was also one of the bitchiest. I swear she had some sort of superpower. She knew everyone and everything about them before they did.

I tried to smile at her and laughed sort of awkwardly. She just stared at me blankly, her face not showing any sort of recognition. It was like she was looking straight through me. Well then. I am not invisible! Well, not anymore.

“Well this is a little awkward…” I said and tried to subtly pull the sleeping bag towards me. I really wanted this one. I mean it was yellow!

When I spoke, she narrowed her eyes. “Only because you’re here,” she said and sneered at me. My face instantly hardened. What a cow!

Before I could say anything back, she had snatched the sleeping bag out of my hands. I was reaching for my wand to maybe hit her over the head with it, but before I could Lily had grabbed my arm.

“She’s not worth it Shaylee,” Lily said to me quietly but she still glared at Jessica’s back. “Here I grabbed you this sleeping bag,” and she handed me a green one. I said ‘thanks’ then stared at the ugly sleeping bag.

I hate green.

Once every group had a sleeping bag each, a tent and cooking and eating utensils, the Professor called for everyone’s attention.

“Alright everyone, the lesson is almost finished so that means our camping adventure is about to start!” Verona said and clapped his hands. We all stared blankly at him. “What that also means is no magic! From the final bell until Sunday evening we will be living as Muggles!” There was a slight protest but Verona silenced us pretty quickly by saying, “Anyone caught using magic will automatically fail this class. Am I clear?”

We all said ‘Yes Sir’ in annoyed voices.

Just then the final bell rang indicating that lessons were finished for the week. Well except ours of course.

“Alright class, let’s grab our gear and go!” Verona said and pretty much danced out of the room.

“Right, well how about you carry the tent and your camping bag Shaylee and I’ll bring your sleeping bag for you. Alice you grab the cooking stuff if you can,” Lily said taking charge, which Alice and I didn’t mind because we had no idea what we were doing.

We walked as a group through the castle, the kids keenest on camping leading the way. I was at the very back walking next to Sirius.

“Are you alright?” I asked him quietly as we let the rest of the class get a little ahead of us. Sirius had been quieter than usual since breakfast and had spent most of the day with a frown on his usually joking face. I hadn’t had a chance to ask him what was wrong and he didn’t look like he particularly wanted to be asked. Now, he just shrugged and didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to push him for answers because I knew that wouldn’t help.

Instead I gave his hand a quick squeeze and said, “If you need to talk or anything, I’m here for you.” Sirius still hadn’t said much so I resolved to talk to him later.

By the time we had lugged all of our gear out the front doors of the castle, I was seriously considering just quietly hiding in a cupboard for the weekend. Surely that would be better than sleeping outside. Honestly, Muggles think of the strangest things.

Professor Verona led us across the grounds towards the lake. We skirted around the edges of the forbidden forest and came to a stop a little ways from the lakes shore. We were a little too close to the Forbidden Forest for my liking. I mean it was called Forbidden for a reason right?

“Okay class, let’s get to work! Choose a comfortable spot and set up your tents. I need a couple of volunteers to help me gather some firewood!” Verona said, looking expectantly at us all. Eventually three people felt bad enough for him to offer to help. I was not one of them. They went ambling off into the tree line of the forest and started picking up dead wood.

“What now?” I asked Lily. She didn’t seem to hear me. That’s when I noticed that she was giving James flirty eyes. I couldn’t help smirking and when she realised I had caught her, she blushed a shade of red as deep as her hair.

“Don’t say a word,” she said to me in a low voice and I grinned at her.

“Uh, do you girls want to help?” Alice asked and I looked over to see her dumping the contents of the tent bag onto the ground. “Bloody hell, what is all of this?” she asked, poking some material with her shoe.

“That’s what you’re going to sleep in tonight!” Remus called over to us from his own pile of material. He laughed at the looks of mine and Alice’s faces.

“We had better get started if we want to get this thing finished by nightfall,” Lily said and picked up a sheet of paper that had to be the instructions.

It took us a long time to get the basic shape of our tent. There was much muttering and swearing, mostly from me, but we managed to at least get the thing to stand upright. It was a little saggy in areas and looked like a mild breeze would knock it over but at least it was up.

Sort of.

“What is that thing?” Sirius asked as he and his friends came over to our tent. They had set theirs up right by ours so that the fronts of our tents were facing each other with a couple meters or so gap between them. I looked enviously at their tent. Theirs was not saggy or awful looking. It actually looked like something you would feel relatively safe to sleep in.

“It’s a tent!” I said defensively. They all cracked up laughing.

“Do you want us to help you?” James asked, still sniggering.

“No!” I bit back. We really could use their help but I was feeling stubborn and unwilling to admit defeat.

“Yes!” Alice and Lily had said at nearly the exact same time as I had said ‘no’.

In the end the boys did help us and in no time at all, our poor excuse of tent was righted and looked just as good as the Marauders.

“Gee, isn’t there usually something people say after someone helps them…” Remus teased as he tossed the last of our gear into our tent.

I rolled my eyes but ended up smiling. “Okay, okay! I admit it! We needed your help, so thank you!”

“What was that?” Remus joked and cupped his ear like he was hard of hearing. “Could you repeat that?”

“Ha-ha, very funny,” I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes. Remus chuckled and ruffled my hair affectionately. What does a hair ruffle mean?! Was it a ‘you are irresistibly cute’ sort of hair ruffle or more of a ‘I think of you as a sister’ ruffle?!

Tell me!

Before I could confuse myself too much about the whole hair ruffling business, Professor Verona and his miserable looking helpers arrived back with armfuls of twigs and branches.

“Everyone come grab some firewood! You should all remember our lesson on camp fires and camp fire safety. I want one fire between two groups. The first team to light their fire correctly and safely will not have to cook tonight!” Professor Verona said and started helping students.

The Marauders automatically looked at us and James asked, “Do you girls want to team up?” We all said yes, of course, and James and Sirius went off to get our firewood.

“Who remembers the lesson on campfires?” I asked the rest of my friends. “Because I’m pretty sure I was too busy being bored to death that lesson…”

It turned out that only Lily and Remus remembered the lesson properly. Not a big surprise. Lily ordered me and Peter to go and get some rocks so we could build a sort of fire pit area. That was apparently the ‘safety’ part. We wandered down to the lake and each grabbed a decent amount of rocks. I may have thrown a worm at Peter, testing his rumored fear of flobberworms. He squealed like a girl and flung his armful of rocks everywhere.

While I dodged his falling rocks, I felt a little mean but it didn’t stop me from laughing.

“Sorry Peter!” I said, still giggling. He glared at me and stomped off back to our tents, leaving his fallen rocks.

Oh well. Totally worth it.

“What has got you so giggly?” Remus asked from behind me. I whirled around and nearly copied Peter by throwing my rocks everywhere. I managed to hold onto them all but looked ridiculous in the process.

“You scared me!” I said, pointing out the obvious. Remus smiled and began picking up some of Peters abandoned rocks.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” he said and caught me staring at him. I quickly looked away and pretended to be interested in a patch of grass. Nice going Shaylee.

“Why did Pete go off in a huff,” he asked, still picking up more rocks. I gave up looking at my boring grass and instead told him about the worm incident. Luckily, he thought it was funny and didn’t think I was a horrible person for being mean to his mate.

“No wonder you get on with Sirius so well! You’re so alike!” Remus laughed, shaking his head. My stomach fluttered at the memory of him asking Sirius if we were dating. I wanted to make sure he was perfectly clear that we were not.

“That’s what makes us such good friends!” I said quickly, putting as much emphasis on the word ‘friends’ as I dared. I didn’t want to be too obvious.

Remus nodded and looked thoughtful before asking, if I’m not mistaken, a little shyly, “And what about Aiden?”

I froze in mid-reach for a rock and stared at Remus. What was he trying to ask me? I thought I knew but I wanted to make sure.

“What about Aiden?” I asked innocently, moving again.

Remus looked uncomfortable and said, “Are you two just friends or…” he trailed off but it was now clear what he was asking.

My stomach exploded in butterflies at the thought of Remus caring if I was dating Aiden enough to ask me straight out. I had to stop a sappy grin from spreading across my face.

“Aiden and I are just friends,” I said quietly and watched Remus closely for his reaction. A slow smile slid over his face but before he could say anything, James was calling out to us.

“Oi you two! We can’t light this thing until we have those rocks!” I wanted to curse him into a million pieces but had to settle for promising to yell at him later for interrupting my Remus time.

“We’d better get back,” Remus said looking just as disappointed as I did.

When we got back to our tents, which were furthest away from the rest of the class, we saw that Lily and the others had stacked all of the firewood into a neat pile. They had the good idea to build it away from our tents. If I had been left to build the fire, I would have probably made it inside our tent.

Once Remus and I had dumped our rocks on the ground, James started rearranging them into a circle around the pile of wood. Once he was finished we called Professor Verona over.

“Excellent job!” he said looking at our unlit campfire. “Here are your matches. Be careful with them! If you need any help let me know. You had better get going if you want to win!” He handed me and Sirius a box of matches and I looked blankly at them. I’ve never used matches before but we had passed a box around class a few days ago so I at least knew what they were. We hadn’t actually used them though, so I had no clue what to do with them.

Sirius was just looking at them as well so Lily offered to show him what to do. Peter, James and Alice watched them eagerly and they all crowded around the fire.

“Here I’ll help you,” Remus said kindly from beside me. He took the box from me and pulled out a match. “You take this,” he said and handed me the small match. I held it nervously like it was going to spontaneously explode. Merlin, for all I know it will!

Remus was still holding the match box in his left hand. With his right hand he gently took mine that was holding the match. My hand tingled where his touched. “You have to strike it along the side of the box like this,” he said as he used his hand to guide mine. The red part of the match swept along the rough side of the box and a small flame instantly erupted.

I shrieked in surprise and flung the match away. It arched through the air to my right and to my horror, landed on Sirius’ long pant leg. Remus and I just stared in shock at the still lit match. Before I could do anything more than stare, Sirius’ pant leg had started to smoke.

Oh Merlin.

It took Sirius a second to work out what was happening but by that time I was yelling and pointing at him, not being very helpful.

“Bloody hell!” Sirius shouted and jumped up, kicking his leg around, trying to put out the small flame that had started.

“Stay still!” Remus shouted before he shoved Sirius over and used his shoes to stamp out the flame. Once Remus reassured Sirius that it was out, he helped him up.

Everyone turned to stare at me.

“I’m so sorry!” I blurted out. I repeated it a few times for good measure. Sirius was glaring daggers at me.

“You set me on fire!” he shouted and pointed to a singed hole in his pants leg.

“I said I was sorry!” I said in a quiet voice. I didn’t like Sirius yelling at me. It felt wrong.

“I can’t believe it! You actually set me on fire!” he was pacing around and waving his arms, really worked up. I understood that he had gotten a fright but really, it was only a small fire… And he was okay! I don’t think he even got a burn!

“I think you’re over reacting-” I tried to say but he cut me off.

“Over reacting?! I was on fire! I could have died!” he had stopped his pacing and was right in front of me, yelling again.

Okay he was definitely over reacting. Where was the Professor when you needed him? I wish he would come and break this up so Sirius couldn’t shout any more. But I saw that Verona was busy helping a group, totally out of earshot. Great.

“Oh come off it!” I said a little angrily. I really was sorry but he was being dramatic.

I wish I hadn’t of said that though because it only made him angrier. “I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised. You’re a walking disaster! No wonder no one has ever wanted to be friends with you!” he said and I saw the instant regret on his face but it didn’t matter. His words stung deep and I felt close to tears.

“Shaylee I didn’t me-” Sirius started to say quickly, reaching out a hand for me. I backed away from it; like I was afraid he would hurt me. A tear escaped before I could turn away and I wiped at it quickly.

“I’m going to set up my sleeping bag,” I said in a wobbly voice. The voice you get when you’re trying to hold back tears. Lily looked like she about to say something but I turned and quickly walked to our tent and unzipped the opening. I climbed in and zipped it closed, thankful that no one had followed me.

I unrolled my horrible green sleeping bag and it took a tear splashing onto the shiny material for me to realise that I was crying. I laid face down on my sleeping bag and cried, trying not to make any noise. I hated myself for crying but by that point there was no stopping it.

Having no friends for a long time was hard on me. I had had no one to talk to when I needed it. There was no one to share my day with or just enjoy each other’s company. So when I became friends with Lily, Alice and the Marauders it had felt like dream come true. As I lay there I thought back to when I had convinced myself that the Marauders were just pretending to be my friends. That only made me cry harder because it brought back all of those horrible feelings.

I heard a scuffle near the opening of the tent and froze, waiting for the unzipping sound. It didn’t come. Instead there was a low murmur of male voices.

“Just leave her alone for now mate. I’m sure she doesn’t want you to see her upset,” Remus said in his soft voice and I was so thankful for him.

“But I have to tell her I didn’t mean what I said!” Sirius whispered back in a desperate voice.

“She knows that,” Lily had joined the conversation. “Just let her be for now.”

I heard Sirius give a huge sigh before he walked off. The other two soon followed.

Once they had left, I relaxed a little. I thought of Sirius and what he said and I felt a stabbing pain in my heart. I thought of him as my closest friend, even closer than Lily or Alice. He knew what a sore spot my having no friends was for me and he still said it. I wanted to curse him, yell at him and call him all sorts of names. But I was too tired, worn out from crying. Also, I knew that I wouldn’t mean any of them so there was no point really. So I lay there trying to think of nothing but not succeeding very well.

It felt like I had been lying there for hours but really it was about half an hour. I could hear everyone else moving around the tent but no one came in. I guess they were giving me time to compose myself and for that I was grateful. I eventually cried myself out, my eyes left red and puffy. Very attractive. If Remus saw me like this I think I would die a slow and painful death from embarrassment.

It could happen!

I rolled over onto my back and sighed deeply. What am I going to do? I can’t just come out of here looking like this. I’m sure my friends all know that I’ve been crying but I don’t want to show them that I have.

I sat up and started digging around in my camp bag. I pulled out my wand with a sigh of relief. I tried to think of one of Alice’s beauty spells and gave one a go, but quietly. I didn’t want anyone to know I was using magic. I didn’t want to fail Muggle Studies after all. I had packed a small mirror in my packing frenzy so I checked out the results of my spell.

Well at least my eyes are no longer red or puffy. My face is still a bit red but it’s better than nothing. I tucked my wand and mirror back into my bag. And Alice laughed at my packing skills. I bet she didn’t bring a mirror and by morning she will be begging to borrow mine!

With that thought, I plastered a smile on my face and unzipped the tent.

* * *

Remus’ POV:

To say I was shocked at what Sirius had said to Shaylee would be an understatement. Sirius was fiercely protective of Shaylee and I know he considers her as a close friend. So to hear him say something that would deliberately hurt Shaylee was a shock.

I didn’t really know how to react. I was angry at Sirius for making Shaylee upset but I could tell right away that Sirius regretted it. So I was torn between wanting to comfort Shaylee and needing to control Sirius, who looked like he was about to rip down the girls tent so he could apologise.

Which if he did, I’m sure would not make Shaylee forgive him. She would more likely curse him. Or kick our tent over. That bloody thing was an effort to put up, even with James’ sneaky bit of magic, so I was in no hurry to have Shaylee knocking it over in a fit of anger.

Once I managed to talk Sirius out of jumping into Shaylee’s tent, he stormed off towards the forest. I had enough sense not to follow him. When Sirius was in a mood like this, like he had been all day, it was best just to leave him alone. When he was ready he would come and talk. I had a feeling Shaylee was much the same way.

So Lily and I let her be and made sure none of the others bothered her. James looked like he wanted to go talk to her but Lily had a quiet word with him and they went off to check out the other students fires.

It was almost an hour before Shaylee emerged from her tent. The sun had started to set but I could see her clearly enough to know that she had been crying. Her eyes weren’t as red as I thought they would be but she looked tired and sad, despite her smile.

She came over to where we were all sitting on logs that James and I had dragged over to act as seats. Everyone except for Sirius, that is. He still hadn’t returned. We had arranged the logs around our now blazing campfire to form a sort of circle. I scooted over on my small log and she squeezed on next to me. The skin on my arm instantly felt hot where hers brushed mine and I knew the heat had nothing to do with the fire. Oh Merlin, I hope she didn’t notice!

“Hey,” I said to her quietly and she gave a small smile back. Then I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I didn’t want to say anything to make her feel awkward, but by not saying anything made it awkward! Thankfully Lily saved me from saying something stupid.

“We were just about to cook our dinner. I know you wouldn’t want to miss that!” Lily said in a teasing tone and managed to get a classic Shaylee eye roll and grin from her.

“I hope you filled up on food at lunch time,” I whispered in her ear. “Because I am a horrible cook!” That managed to get a laugh out of her and the group as a whole relaxed.

I saw Lily mouth the words, ‘Are you okay?’ from across the fire where she was sitting next to James. Shaylee gave a tiny nod. Then they started having a silent girl chat with each other. There was a lot of eyebrow raising and giggles between them, though neither of them said anything.

Let me tell you, girls are a bloody mystery. How on earth do they understand each other?

James was looking from Lily to Shaylee as well and then looked to me for answers. I just shook my head and shrugged. I’m almost certain James muttered ‘bloody girls’ to himself while laughing.

“Alright everyone! Listen up!” Professor Verona called from the middle of our camping ground. Groups of students turned to look at him. Some of them had found logs like we had, while others were sitting in the opening of their tents or on the ground around their fires. It looked like everyone had managed to make a decent fire.

“Since group Three here won the fire making competition, they will not have to cook tonight! Instead, groups One and Four will be cooking theirs for them since they were the last to get their fires going!” the Professor continued and group Three cheered while One and Four groaned and protested. We were group Five and obviously hadn’t won the competition, what with Shaylee setting Sirius on fire and all, but luckily we only had to worry about cooking our own food.

“When you are ready, send someone from your group to collect your supplies!” Verona shouted over the noise of the now chattering students.

“How about Lily and I go get the food,” James said and jumped up, bringing Lily with him, really leaving her no choice. She didn’t protest like she normally would… Hmm.

“Peter and I will go get the cooking utensils!” Alice said quickly and dragged Peter off towards her tent. I could have sworn she flashed Shaylee a quick wink… Or maybe it was just the fire light?

That left Shaylee and I sitting squashed together on our log. Oh Merlin, what do I say? Before I could stop it, I heard myself asking, “Are you okay? After what happened with Sirius I mean.”

She looked at me, not saying anything for a moment. Great, now I have gone and made her feel worse! Just as I was about to apologise for prying, she surprised me by answering.

“Yeah I’m okay,” she looked down at her hands and I noticed that she was playing with her fingers like she often did when she was talking to people. “I was just shocked I think. I mean, Sirius is like my best friend and I know he has you, James and Peter, but I at least thought he liked me as a good friend or something…” she trialed off and continued to twist her fingers.

Suddenly, without thinking, I grabbed her hand. We both stared at our hands, shocked at my boldness, but she didn’t pull away. That has to be a good sign right? It felt different holding her hand this time. Last time I had held her hand it was because I wanted to protect her from the Slytherin quidditch team and I had thought of her as only a friend. Now it felt completely different.

“He does think of you as a best friend,” I said to her quietly and she looked up at me.

For a moment I forgot that we were camping, that all of our classmates were around us. I forgot that I didn’t know for sure if Shaylee liked me or not or if she was just being friendly. All I could see and think about was how beautiful she looked right now, her face being lit by the flickering light of the fire. Her dark hair and ivory skin seemed like a backdrop for her green eyes that were shining brightly.

My eyes dropped from her eyes to her lips. She was lightly biting her bottom lip like she was nervous. Did she have any idea how sexy that was? I had a feeling she didn’t which made it even more incredible.

“Remus,” she said my name on almost a whisper and that was it. I have to kiss her! Right now!

But before I could even lean forward or close my eyes, James and Lily returned loudly back to our fire. The moment was broken and Shaylee quickly looked away. To my disappointment she pulled her hand back and jumped up to help Lily with the food. All I could do was stare in shock.

What just happened?

* * *

Shaylee’s POV:

What just happened?!

What…

I…

Help?!

One minute everyone was around the fire and I was actually feeling a little bit better. Then the next second Lily has gone off with James and Alice has practically dragged Peter away so I was alone with Remus. I can’t even believe what happened next, thought I am sure it happened. Well I hope to Merlin that it happened because otherwise I have an extremely over active imagination.

After Remus asked if I was okay I had to take a second to make sure my answer was truthful. I had said more than I planned too. Remus seemed to have that effect on me. He could ask me anything and I would tell him. God, I hope I never have to keep a secret from him! I would have to avoid him for the rest of my life!

When he took my hand, I practically fell off the log, had a heart attack and nearly peed my pants all at once. That is a lot to try and control at the same time and frankly I am surprised one of those things didn’t happen.

Then he just started staring at me and I felt like my insides had turned to mush. He was so good looking and sweet. How is it that one person could manage to be both so good looking and a great person at the same time? I know he had to have his flaws but I was way past caring what they were.

As he was staring at me I was having a mini freak out in my head. I had to tell myself not to leap on him and snog him senseless, though that is exactly what I wanted to do. I refused to be the one to make the move this time! Look how great that turned out last time…

When James and Lily came back I wanted to tackle them and curse them for their horrible timing. But they had broken the moment so I couldn’t think of anything else to do other than try and help Lily cook dinner.

What a great idea that was.

NOT!

“Lily,” I said as I poked a slimy looking pink thing. “Surely this is not a sausage!”

Lily rolled her eyes but grinned at me. “It is, now put it on the cooking plate before you set it on fire!” I glared at her and she smiled innocently back at me. “Too soon?”

“Much too soon,” I grumbled to myself while the others laughed. I looked from the slimy sausages, to the metal cooking plate that was sitting over the fire heating up, and back again. They looked so gross! If I had known that this is what sausages look like before they’re cooked I would never have eaten them!

“I, um, just remembered that I am, um, allergic? Yes! Allergic to… uh… cooking!” I said and quickly backed away from the sausages that, I swear, were staring at me. “So sorry but someone else will ha-” I started to say but stopped abruptly when I backed up into something solid.

Please don’t let it be a bear! Or a wild hippogriff! For the love of Merlin, please don’t let it be a deranged psycho killer with a hook for a hand! I’ve read the Muggle horror stories and they never end well!

As I slowly turned around and saw what, or I should say who, it was, I let out a small shriek and flung my arms around him.

“Sirius!” I said, my voice muffled by my face being buried in his chest. “I thought you were a crazed killer with a hook for a hand! Whose idea was it to set up camp so close to the stupid forest anyway?!” I was babbling but I couldn’t help it. He stood there shocked for a moment before his arms slowly wrapped around my waist and he hugged me tightly. I could hear him, and the others for that matter, laughing at me. That’s when I remembered that I was supposed to be mad at him.

I shoved him away and glared at him, my arms folded across my chest. All signs of laughter disappeared from his face. The others stopped laughing and I could feel everyone in our group staring at us, wondering what was going to happen.

“Shaylee please, can I talk to you?” Sirius asked me in a voice I hadn’t heard him use before. It was soft and sad and there was no way I could say no. Damn! He really knew how to get me!

I gave a sigh but nodded my head. His face cheered up slightly and he grabbed my hand and began leading me towards the darkened lake. As we were walking away I heard Lily call out, “We will save you some dinner!” and I smiled appreciably over my shoulder at her. As I did, I saw Remus staring at me and Sirius with a troubled expression on his face. What did that mean? Before I could even begin to think what it meant, we had rounded a corner of trees and he was out of sight.

We got to the lakes edge without anyone stopping us. Professor Verona and the rest of the students were too busy trying not to burn their eyebrows off while they cooked their dinner. Sirius and I both sat down on the rocky shore, far enough away so the water wouldn’t wet our shoes. I looked out across the lake and wondered if Barry was out there swimming around or if he was sleeping already. Then I remembered why I was here and turned to look at Sirius.

He was looking at me but wasn’t saying anything. Well I sure as hell am not going to be the one to speak first, I will tell you that much! I will sit here all night if we have to. He will be the first to speak not matter what!

“Well?” I asked impatiently. Dammit. I always do the exact opposite of what I tell myself I’m going to do.

“I’m so sorry Shaylee!” he said, again using the soft, sad voice. He looked truly upset and any anger I had melted away. I’ve said it once and I will say it again. I just can’t be mad at him. “I didn’t mean what I said! It just came out! I’ve been in a bad mood all day because of this stupid letter I got at breakfast and I ended up taking it out on you. I wasn’t thinking and I-” he was talking in such a rush that I had to shut him up by putting my hand over his mouth.

“It’s okay,” I said, still covering his mouth in case he continued on rambling. “I forgive you.”

I could feel him smiling before suddenly my hand was wet. “Did you just lick me?!” I shrieked, yanking my hand away from his mouth. He was grinning at me like a guilty child, looking much more like his normal self.

“Ew!” I said and whacked him on the arm, which didn’t seem to have much effect. He just laughed and wrapped his arm around me again like he usually did. This felt much better, much more normal. Well except for Sirius’ spit on my hand, which I wiped on his shirt sleeve. That was a first.

We sat there for a little while, just staring out over the lake, enjoying our renewed friendship. I had known I wouldn’t stay mad at him for long, even if he did make me cry. I thought of his apology and suddenly remembered something.

“What letter did you get this morning?” I asked, looking at his face for his reaction. He momentarily stiffened and his jaw clenched but just as quickly relaxed. He used his free hand to pull out a crumpled letter from his jeans pocket. He handed it to me and turned his head away.

Frowning at the parchment, I unfolded it and read it slowly. It was hard to read in the dark but the moon was large in the sky and gave off just enough light. The more I read, the angrier I felt. By the time I finished the whole thing my hands were shaking with rage.

I tried to control my voice so as not to upset Sirius. It was an effort. “Who wrote this?” I asked, staring at the unsigned letter.

“It’s my brother Regulus’ handwriting,” Sirius said and he turned to look at me. I gave the letter back to him, trying to control my shaking hands.

“I’m going to curse him,” I said darkly, most unlike myself. “I will hex and jinx him until he is nothing but a pile of dust! And then I will- I will… Well I don’t know but I’ll think of something and it will be horrible!” Sirius looked shocked but then smiled kindly at me and gave me a squeeze.

“He’s not worth getting in trouble over,” Sirius said and continued on before I could protest. “I highly doubt he wrote it on his own anyway. I’m sure my mother had a hand in it.” He had said it so casually, as if his own brother or mother writing him a letter saying horrible, horrible things to him was normal. My heart panged painfully at the thought. Sirius in no way deserved to be called any of the names his family called him.

Having read the letter, I completely understood his weird mood all day and his outburst at me. “I wish you had told me sooner. You know I’m always here for you,” I said and gave him a big hug.

He hugged me back and replied, “I know you are. Just like I’m always here for you.”

After that we sat there a little while longer but soon I could hear, and feel, Sirius’ stomach rumble with hunger. I laughed quietly before standing up and stretching. I tugged on Sirius’ hand and reluctantly pulled him up.

“Come on you big lug,” I said and grinned at him. “Let’s go and see if the others managed to cook anything worth eating!”

“I doubt it! If Remus is in charge of the food we may as well eat the grass!” he joked and we began walking back towards our camp. We got a few looks from some of the girls as we casually strolled back past them but we tried to act normal. About halfway I got the giggles and couldn’t stop. That set Sirius off and we ended up looking very guilty. I noticed Melanie Johnson, a Hufflepuff and the head of Sirius’ fan club, glaring at me and I responded by poking my tongue out at her.

“Look who is back!” James said cheerfully from his place next to Lily. “Everything back to normal?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Prongs. Was there a fight or something?” Sirius joked and James rolled his eyes. As Sirius went to sit next to Peter, I saw him subtly toss a piece of parchment into the fire. I caught his eye and smiled at him. He returned it and I felt happy as I sat back down next to Remus.

Remus looked from me to Sirius before he looked sulkily away. Oh God, Sirius and I must have looked a lot guiltier than I thought. I wanted to shout out ‘It’s not what it looks like! We were just talking, not snogging!’ I didn’t though. Remus probably thinks I’m crazy enough as it is.

“So you’re still alive?” I said to Remus, grabbing his chin and turning it left and right, pretending to check if he was okay. He looked a little startled at first but soon realised what I was doing. I was surprised at myself for being so bold and comfortable with him but my talk with Sirius had left me in a good mood. He laughed and rolled his eyes before gesturing to a paper plate of food.

“I’m still alive! I saved you some food. I even tried it first just to make sure. Lily did a good job!” Remus said and tossed his empty plate into the fire. His sulky expression was gone and his normal smile was back. I breathed a sigh of relief.

As Sirius and I ate our dinner, that actually tasted pretty amazing, Professor Verona started organizing people to clean up and such. Alice and Peter volunteered and in no time our cooking stuff was packed neatly away, ready for tomorrow.

Once everyone’s areas were tidied up, Verona called the class to attention again. “Now it is time for a camp sing-a-long!” He looked around at everyone. We all stared back at him. Surely he is joking.

He is not.

A/N: Hello everyone! That was part 1 of the Camping chapters. I hope you liked it and are excited for part 2! Hopefully you didn't fall asleep halfway through this and drool on your keyboard.

Thank you so much for reading! And reviewing! And just being awesome in general! Drop me a review letting me know what you thought! They make my day. :D Thank you!

“Gather round everyone, gather round!” Professor Verona called from his fireplace. Most of the students begrudgingly crowded around Verona who was already off singing. Our group looked at each other before shaking our heads. At least we are in agreement.

“There is no way I am singing some crap song about a dog named Bingo!” I said flatly. The others laughed like I was joking.

I am not.

“Why don’t we tell ghost stories instead?” Alice suggested.

“Oh I have heaps of ghost stories! Sir Nicholas can talk for ages about himself. That’s counted as a ghost story right?” I asked. Judging by their laughter, it is not.

I smiled back at him before sighing and saying, “If we must! Who knows one?”

Surprisingly James knew one. Before he started, Frank who had snuck away from the group of singing lunatics came and joined our group. He and Alice looked pretty cozy over on their log. I waggled my eyebrows at her and she grinned at me.

“There was a group of teenagers out camping in the woods,” James began in low voice. “They were all sitting around their campfire late at night. One of the guys, let’s call him Sirius,” he grinned at Sirius who rolled his eyes. “Sirius thought he heard a noise in the darkness. He ignored it at first but he kept hearing it, though no one else could. Now Sirius was not too bright, otherwise he would have never gone out into the pitch black woods on his own. But he did. He snuck off from the group without anyone noticing.”

James had his torch now and was shining it on face, giving it a creepy glow. Why? Why did he have to do that?

“He walked through the dense woods, following the sound. It was like something was scraping on wood. He couldn’t figure out what it would be so he kept following it, like the fool he was,” At this point Sirius tried to protest but the rest of us just shushed him. “He realised he had wandered so far away from his friends that he could no longer see any light from their fire. Just as he was about to turn back he heard someone call his name,”

James lowered his voice even more and did the creepiest whisper ever. “Siiiiiriusssss… Sirius whipped around at the sound but couldn’t see a thing. Suddenly there was a BANG!” James had said ‘bang’ so loudly and suddenly that I nearly fell backwards off the log. Remus had to grab my arm to stop me. I blushed furiously and glared at James. Remus didn’t let go of my arm though. Instead he linked my arm through his so I was sort of snuggled up to him.

I could get used to this.

Unfortunately, James was continuing with his story. “Sirius turned around again but there was nothing there! He started running through the woods, feeling like something was chasing him but he couldn’t see what. All of a sudden he ran into something hanging from a tree. Sirius realised with sickening horror that the scraping sound he had been hearing was that of a lifeless body hitting the tree. He stared in horror at it, not able to tear his eyes away, no matter how much he wanted to. Without warning, the seemingly lifeless body opened its eyes and stared straight back at Sirius! Sirius stumbled over backwards and tried to run but it was too late... His friends went looking for him that same night but never found him. They say that if you listen closely at the stroke of midnight, you can hear Sirius’ last scream on the wind.”

I officially hate ghost stories. What a horrible story! Why did James have to pick Sirius to go off and get murdered? Why couldn’t he have picked Demelza or better yet, Emily! All I can say is that I’m happy that Sirius is safe and sound with us and James’ stupid story isn’t true.

Wait a minute…

“Where’s Sirius?!” I asked frantically, looking around wildly for him. He was just there! I saw him! Alice was looking around in alarm as well. She had been cuddled up to Frank for the entire story. I think she regrets suggesting ghost stories.

I was just about to get up so I could rush off into the forest to rescue Sirius, when suddenly someone grabbed me from behind and shouted loudly in my ear.

This time I did fall off the log.

I officially hate Sirius Black. I also hate James Potter for scaring me with his stupid story and for giving Sirius the idea to suddenly disappear, only to pop back up behind me and scare the living daylights out of me.

I lay on the ground staring up at Sirius and Remus’ laughing faces, my knees still hooked over the log. I was trying to get my breathing back to normal and my brain was still trying to catch up with what had just happened.

“That was the funniest thing I have ever seen!” James said through his laughter. I could hear everyone else laughing. Why, Merlin, is it always me they are laughing at?

* * *

Much later that night our group still sat around the fire, enjoying its warmth. Most of the class had gone to bed, having given up on their awful sing-a-long. After my horribly embarrassing falling off the log moment, I had sat back on the log Remus and I shared and tried not to blush too much. Sirius went laughing back to his log and I glared at him as he started telling another ghost story.

“Are you alright?” Remus whispered in my ear, a faint chuckle still in his voice. I pretended to frown at him and he looked innocently back at me.

“You said you would look after me!” I whispered back to him but couldn’t manage to sound angry. “I don’t know what your definition of ‘look after’ is but it usually doesn’t involve letting people fall of logs!”

Remus laughed before saying, “I’m sorry! I promise I will do a better job from now on!” and he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him. I nearly fell off the log again.

Lily, who was in much the same position with James, gave me a big grin. I grinned back at her and mouthed ‘Oh My God!’

I think I’m starting to quite like camping.

Once we ran out of ghost stories to tell, we ended up just talking and joking with each other. It was a great night and definitely one I would remember.

When Peter started yawning, which made Sirius yawn and then me yawn and so on, we decided to call it a night. I reluctantly let go of Remus and stood up. That’s when I realised that I really needed to pee.

Oh God! I hadn’t thought about going to the toilet while camping! What am I supposed to do?!

I said a swift goodnight to Remus and he smiled back at me. My heart gave a jolt and I wanted to jump on him and never let him go. I didn’t though. Instead, I quickly went to Lily and yanked her out of James grip. He looked like he wanted to protest but didn’t at the sight of my face.

“Lily! What are we supposed to do about going to the loo?!” I asked her in a low, frantic voice.

She laughed and pointed to the forest. “You take the toilet paper, dig a hole and go!” she said, shrugging.

I stared at her in horror. Surely she is kidding.

She isn’t.

Muggles, I tell you.

“I’m not going in there on my own!” I said and shook my head so she got my point. Alice made her way over to us and to Lily’s amusement, asked the same question I just had.

“Fine! We will all go!” Lily said giving in to mine and Alice’s constant complaints. “Just let me go get my toiletry bag and we will go.”

Once Lily had returned with her bag and a torch, we started towards the dark forest. We are going to die in here, I just know it.

“Where are you lot going?” James asked just as we were about to go into the forest.

“You don’t want to know,” I said and then frowned at him. “You are so lucky to be a guy.” Realisation dawned on his face and he went off laughing. Stupid James.

Alice clung to my arm as we walked further into the thick trees, our only light coming from Lily’s torch.

“I swear if there is a hooked man hanging from a tree ready to kill us, you two are on your own!”

* * *

I hate camping.

Honestly, who thought it would be a good idea to sleep on the hard ground outside in nature where anything can get you. Not to mention having no toilets or showers! That is just criminal. Surely that can’t be legal.

Peeing in the woods was not an experience I wanted to have. It was awful. I thought for sure something was going to bite my bum. And it didn’t help that Lily and Alice were a few meters away with their backs turned, giggling.

After that horrible experience, we all trudged back to our camp. Everyone else had gone to bed and our fire was now only smoldering. I unzipped our tent and we all piled in. We all struggled to change into our pajamas in the cramped space. It resulted in a lot of giggling at the sight of Alice rolling around on her sleeping bag, trying to pull her pajama pants on. There was also a moment when I thought it would be a good idea to stand up and try and take my socks off. It wasn’t a good idea. I lost my balance and nearly knocked our whole tent over.

Once we all managed to dress ourselves and our tent was in one piece, we snuggled into our sleeping bags. I was in the middle of Lily and Alice, a tactic of mine to make sure that if a monster was to come ripping through the sides of the tents, I would not be the first to get killed.

“So,” I said in a quiet voice and smiled slyly at Lily. “You and James looked mighty comfortable tonight!”

Even in the darkness I knew Lily was blushing. “I don’t know what you mean,” Lily tried to say casually but it was obvious that she was grinning.

“Oh come on Lils! I saw you and James the other night in the corridor! You were practically attached at the mouth!” I said and had to roll away from her protesting hits.

“I didn’t know you and James had kissed!” Alice said and sat up so she was looking at Lily. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Alright, alright! It’s true! James and I snogged and it was amazing!” she finished on a dreamy sigh and Alice and I mocked her. “Shut up you two!” Lily said and chucked something at Alice.

“That is amazing! I never thought I would see the day!” Alice said and I knew she was grinning. “So are you together now or what?”

“Well…” Lily said, sounding hesitant. “I don’t know. I mean it has only just happened and we haven’t told anyone, well until now, and so I just don’t know. James hasn’t mentioned it but then again we haven’t had much time to be alone.”

“Lily, you know James would say yes to going out with you in a heartbeat! He is probably worried that you don’t want to go out with him! I think you should just tell him you two are going out and be done with it!” I said simply.

Lily was quiet for a moment before she said in a much more certain voice. “You’re right Shaylee. That’s exactly what I’m going to do tomorrow.”

After that, talk turned to Alice and Lily and I found out that just tonight Frank had officially asked Alice out! We all cheered, but quietly so as not to wake the Marauders, and chatted about how many times they had snogged.

“What about you and Remus eh?” Alice said in a cheeky voice. “You two looked positively adorable tonight around the fire!”

It was my turn to blush bright red and I was thankful for the darkness. “I think…” I started but hesitated. “I think that he may have wanted to kiss me earlier tonight…”

Alice and Lily both sat up suddenly and stared at me. They were silent for a second before they squealed with delight. “Oh you have to tell us exactly what happened!”

By the time I finished telling them the whole story of when Remus and I were left alone by the fire, it was extremely late but we were all too caught up in our chat to care much.

* * *

We cared in the morning.

“Rise and shine ladies!” someone said loudly from the mouth of our unzipped tent. I sat up quickly and stared around in confusion. What is going on? It can’t be morning already! And why am I on the ground in this ugly green sleeping bag?!

Oh right. Camping.

I stared, or more so squinted, through tired puffy eyes at the person who had woken me.

It was Sirius.

Of course.

“What are you doing?” I asked grumpily before flopping back onto the hard ground and pulling my sleeping bag over my head.

“Waking you lazy lot up! Verona says it’s time for breakfast!” Sirius said in a much too cheery voice for this ungodly hour.

“Go away!” Alice grumbled from her curled up position. I fully supported her by grumbling at Sirius as well, who just laughed.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” he said but I just grunted. I will never be a morning person. My mum used to say that I would grow into it, learn to enjoy the morning air. But I haven’t and never will. Mornings suck.

I had started to drift back off to sleep, nearly completely forgetting Sirius’ threat. That was a mistake. Before I knew or could stop what was happening, someone had grabbed hold of the bottom of my sleeping bag and was dragging me out of the tent.

I screamed in surprise and started flailing around; trying to stop this crazy person or to at least get out of the bloody sleeping bag but it didn’t work. In a matter of seconds I was staring up at the blue sky.

I hate Sirius.

All of the Marauders and Lily were standing around me, laughing their asses off. I glared up at them all. I struggled to get out of the sleeping bag. It wasn’t very graceful but I eventually managed to free myself.

I stood glaring at them all with my hands on my hips. They tried to plaster innocent expressions on their faces but didn’t manage it very well.

“It’s not funny!” I said grumpily. “I was totally getting up, Sirius! You didn’t need to drag me out of my tent!” I crossed my arms over my chest in a huff. That’s when I realised that I was in my pajamas. My pajamas that were a pair of shorts with ducks on them and a singlet. I was in my ridiculous pajamas in front of Remus.

Oh dear Merlin.

I hurriedly picked my sleeping bag up and stormed back into our tent, zipping it back up while blushing furiously. Alice was now sitting up, still in her sleeping bag, and looking at me through tired eyes.

“What just happened?” she asked and ran her fingers through her hair.

“Just Sirius being a horrible friend!” I shouted in the direction of Sirius and the others. I could see their outline through the tent material. They were still laughing. I hate them all. Well, maybe just Sirius.

“Oh is that all?” Alice said and grinned at me. “Nice pajamas,” she laughed and I threw my sleeping bag at her. It didn’t do any damage. It was a sleeping bag after all.

“Oh shut up,” I said tiredly and started digging through my camping bag for clothes. Alice stretched and started doing the same.

“Where’s Lily?” Alice asked as she tied her shoe laces.

“She’s dressed and outside already with the Marauders,” I said bitterly and cursed Lily for being a morning person.

Alice nodded and then started messing with her hair again. I smirked as I watched her struggle. I bet she wishes she packed a mirror now! And she dared to question my packing skills! Eventually I felt bad for her though so I got out my mirror and gave it to her.

“Oh you are a life saver!” Alice said and gave me a sudden hug.

Once Alice and I managed to make ourselves look normal, well as normal as you could in the wilderness, we both emerged from our tent yawning and stretching. Our Muggle Studies camping ground was full of bleary eyed teenagers staggering around trying to organize breakfast. Professor Verona was joyfully sipping tea at his camp fire, beaming around at everyone. No one beamed back. How can he be that bloody cheerful at this time of the morning? How can he be that bloody cheerful at any time?!

As Alice went off to say good morning to Frank, I looked over at our camp fire and saw Lily sitting with James. They were holding hands. In front of everyone. In the daylight! Did I somehow manage to stumble into James’ perverted fantasies? Lord I hope not.

As it turned out, I was not in a James fantasy. They were actually going public with their relationship. I grinned at them both and James positively beamed back. Lily grinned back just as happily, though there was a slight tint of a blush on her face.

Peter was busy cooking eggs on the cooking plate and he seemed to be enjoying himself. On the next log over was Sirius and he was not alone. Jessica Russell, the girl who stole my yellow sleeping bag, was sitting as close as she could next to him. If she got any closer she would be sitting on his lap. She probably wanted to sit on his lap! She was smiling and flirting with him so obviously that I wanted to puke. I frowned at them but they were both too busy flirting with each other to notice my arrival.

Stupid sleeping bag stealer.

Turning away from them, I saw Remus and he was smiling widely at me. The sight of him put an instant dopey smile on my face. I tried to control it but it had a mind of its own. Oh well, who cares? He’s already seen me in my pajamas, surely that is more embarrassing than my stupid smile.

I sat down next to him and couldn’t control a large yawn. Did I mention I hate mornings?

“Tired?” Remus asked sarcastically and smirked at me. I rolled my eyes and pushed him playfully. Then my brain stop working all together but my body went on without it. I sort of cuddled up next to him and laid my head on his shoulder.

Oh Merlin this is comfortable. Why didn’t I sleep here last night?

“Do you mind?” I asked him softly. “Even if you do, I’m not moving!”

Remus laughed and said, “No, I don’t mind.” And he laid his cheek on the top of my head. I’m sure if I wasn’t so tired and comfortable, I would have been freaking out about our closeness. But at the moment it just felt so right that I didn’t want to ruin it by doing something stupid, like moving.

* * *

“Thanks for cooking breakfast Peter,” I said and smiled kindly at him. Peter blushed bright red but seemed rather pleased.

Everyone had just finished eating and Remus and I just finished cleaning everything up. Verona was trying to gather everyone’s attention by waving his arms about and shouting, “Settle down everyone, settle down!” Eventually, everyone did settle down, but mostly because we were all so tired.

“What a lovely morning it is! Now it is a little chilly so I thought we could all warm up with a game of Team Hug Tag!” Verona said and looked around at us all.

Uh, what?

“For those of you who haven’t played it before it is a very fun Muggle game. Two people will start off being ‘it’. They have to hold hands and are not allowed to let go at any time. They must then try and tag other people using their free hand. If you are tagged you must hold the hand of the person who tagged you! As more and more people are tagged, the ‘team’ becomes bigger but slower. If the chain of people holding hands breaks, they cannot tag anyone until they are linked back together.” Verona explained excitedly. I looked around to see if anyone else was having trouble following this. I wasn’t the only one.

“But Sir, where does the ‘hug’ part come into it?” a Hufflepuff boy asked, looking confused.

“Oh yes, I nearly forgot! If you are about to be tagged, you can grab another player and hug them! The hug can only last for ten seconds but for that time you are safe from being caught!” Verona said. “Right, does everyone understand?” he didn’t pause to let anyone answer before he was walking off out of our camp site and towards the lake. “Good! Now follow me everyone!”

How old does he think we are? About ten I suspect. This is going to be awful.

We all begrudgingly followed him and came to a stop at the lakes edge. The sun seemed like it was barely in the sky but really it was about 8 or 9 o’clock. If I wasn’t on this stupid camping trip I would still be snoring in my comfortable bed for a couple of more hours. Oh God, other students will be coming out onto the grounds soon! They are going to see me running around like a fool. Great.

“We have this wonderfully big area to use so make good use of it!” Verona called to us all. “Now who wants to be it?”

No one wanted to, was the answer.

“Right well I guess I will just have to pick someone!” Verona said looking around. I sort of hid behind Remus. I don’t want to be it! I don’t even know what ‘it’ is!

In the end Professor Verona picked Frank and gave Frank the option of picking his partner. He chose Alice, much to her complaints. I poked my tongue out at her and laughed. That probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do.

“I’m going to get you!” Alice said to me and laughed as Frank pulled her towards the Professor.

“You have 30 seconds everyone!” Frank called out and grabbed Alice’s hand. She didn’t seem to mind being ‘it’ so much now.

“30 seconds to what?!” I turned to ask Lily in a panic but she had already sprinted away. It took me a second to realise that most of the class had scattered and were running off in different directions, the girls giggling and laughing while the guys tried to trip each other.

I spotted Sirius and Remus running to the left and decided to follow them. The Tomato Girl is sure to make an appearance soon. I hope they are ready for her because it is not a pretty sight.

They were hiding behind a large tree when I caught up to them. I was panting but not in the ‘I’m dying!’ way, which was good. I squeezed in between them both and then peered around the tree trunk.

Alice and Frank had already tagged two girls who were now linked up to them. It was funny to watch four people trying to run while holding hands. Alice looked like she was having a great time, if the crazed grin on her face was anything to go by.

“What do we do now?!” I asked the two boys who were also laughing at the sight of everyone running around like crazy people.

“We try not to get caught!” Sirius said and leapt out from behind the tree and ran towards James who was running in mad zig zags to avoid the growing chain of pursuers.

“Oh yes and look how well that turned out last night!” I said sarcastically but grinned back at him.

“Yes, well that doesn’t count,” Remus said and I rolled my eyes. That’s when I suddenly saw Lily directly opposite us. She was waving madly at me and I saw why. The chain of people, which had now grown to include ten people, was curving in her direction and she would soon be caught.

“I have to go save Lily!” I said to Remus and didn’t wait for his reply. I jumped out from behind the tree and sprinted towards Lily. I may or may not have shouted at the top of my lungs, “I’M COMING TO RESCUE YOU LILY!”

I reached Lily just as Frank, who was still leading the tag team, was about to touch her. I flung my arms around her in a triumphant hug and grinned at Frank who poked his tongue out at me. He veered off to the left to try and catch Melanie Johnson, dragging his team with him.

“Thanks Shaylee!” Lily said before she ran off again. I shouted ‘hey!’ after her but she just laughed crazily. I just shook my head and jogged after her.

I was taken by surprise when the ever growing group of people who were ‘it’ suddenly swerved to right. They were just about to catch me when arms came around my waist from behind me and I was enveloped in strong arms. The group veered off in the opposite direction as I turned around to find Remus.

“My hero!” I said and pretended to swoon.

Remus laughed and said, “I told you I would protect you!” I nearly did swoon for real.

The game went on for quite a while. The whole class enjoyed it so much that everyone really got into it. Sirius and James were hilarious, doing combat rolls on the ground, sneaking from tree to tree, and hugging each other tightly when they came close to getting caught. I eventually got caught by Lily who had gotten tagged about three seconds before she got me.

In the end James ended up winning and he celebrated by cheering loudly and then kissing Lily right on the lips, in front of everyone. The whole class stared in shock at them. When James broke the kiss, we could all see Lily’s bright red face but she was grinning sheepishly. The girls in the class instantly went into hushed whispers and one girl looked like she wanted to murder Lily. I just rolled my eyes at them and went to link arms with Lily and Alice.

“What a fantastic game! Well done James!” Professor Verona said loudly over the talking teenagers. “It’s time for lunch! Everyone please make your way back to camp!”

I wonder how red faced I am right now? Extremely probably. And sweaty. Oh gross.

As we all made our way back to camp I tried to subtly fix my hair and fanned myself with my hand. It worked. Sort of.

* * *

The rest of the day passed a lot quicker than I thought it would. Verona was absolutely beside himself with pride because the whole class seemed to be enjoying themselves. I still think Muggles are crazy for wanting to go camping, but it wasn’t so bad.

The sun was just setting when we all started to cook dinner. Well when I say we, I really mean Peter. He seemed to enjoy cooking and who was I to deny him that? Okay, okay I admit I didn’t want to cook at all and sort of went and hid in my tent when the topic of cooking came up.

That’s where I am now. Sitting cross legged and praying that Lily doesn’t come and drag me out of the tent. I wouldn’t put it past her. She will probably try and make me touch a raw sausage. It is like she is obsessed with them. When she was cooking them last night I swear I heard her call them ‘her sausages’. Mental, I tell you.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared at the front of the tent. Oh God! Here she comes!

As the zip was opened, I shouted, “I am not touching your stupid sausages!”

“Whoa I just wanted to talk but if that’s what’s on your mind…” Sirius said with a wicked grin and waggled his eyebrows suggestively as he climbed into the tent.

“Ew! You are so dirty minded!” I said and whacked him with my pillow. He easily grabbed the pillow from me before hitting me over the head with it.

“You’re the one in here thinking of ‘sausages!’” Sirius said while I tried to wrestle the pillow back from him.

Sirius was stronger than me but I was smaller and quicker. I got both of Lily and Alice’s pillows and started hitting him with them. We were both laughing loudly and making a mess in the cramped tent.

“Ha!” I said triumphantly as I repeatedly hit Sirius with the two pillows. I may or may not currently be straddling Sirius. “I win! I am the master of pillow fights!”

Before I could scoff at that, the tent was unzipped again. Sirius and I both froze and looked over to see Remus staring in at us. I started to smile my stupid dopey smile when I realised.

I am still sitting on Sirius!

Oh Merlin, how bad must this look?!

“Oh uh, sorry I didn’t-” Remus quickly and very awkwardly. He didn’t even finish before he hurriedly zipped the tent closed again. My stomach felt like it had dropped out of my body. Remus is going to think that Sirius and I were up to something!

Well, to be fair, we were up to something. But it was just me kicking Sirius’ ass in a friendly pillow fight about sausages!

I looked down at Sirius who was looking up at me. I very ungracefully got off of him. He sat up and looked like he was trying not to laugh.

“Don’t you dare laugh!” I warned him darkly but he laughed anyway. “This is all your fault! Coming in here and talking about sausages!” I said grumpily to him, completely disregarding the fact that I had actually started to talk of sausages.

“That was you!” Sirius said indignantly as he pushed his hair out of his eyes.

“I have bigger things to worry about than whose fault it was, even if it was yours!” I muttered the last bit but Sirius heard me and just rolled his eyes.

“It’s not a big deal Shaylee!” Sirius tried to say comfortingly.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Not a big deal?!” I said in a low hiss hoping that no one was lurking around outside the tent. “I was sitting on top of you! What would you make of that if you saw two people like that alone in a tent?”

Sirius was silent for a second before he sighed. “I can see your point. Not to worry though!” he said and got up to leave. “I’ll just casually explain to Remus what was going on and everything will be fine.”

I looked at him doubtfully but he just smiled his confident smile.

Merlin, why do you let me get into these awkward situations?

* * *

“Dinner is ready!” I heard Peter call from our fireplace. I sighed and climbed out of the tent. I hope Sirius has talked to Remus by now. I mean it has been at least half an hour. That should be enough time to explain that nothing was going on. Right?

I felt nervous as I took my seat next to Remus. What if he pushes me off the log and tells me to go sit with Sirius? No, he wouldn’t do that. He’s too nice. Maybe he will just think it instead.

“Hey there ‘Sausage’, I heard you kicked Sirius’ ass in a pillow fight!” Remus said to me in his normal lovely tone. I sat there gaping at him. I didn’t expect him to say that.

“Did you- did you just call me Sausage?” was the first thing that stumbled out of my confused brain/mouth.

Remus laughed and handed me a plate of food. Luckily there were no sausages on it otherwise I may have thrown it at someone. Possibly Jessica Russell who was all cozied up next to Sirius again on the next log over.

“Sirius told me what was going on when I walked in on you guys,” Remus said and there was a slight hint of blush on his cheeks. “For a second there I thought you two…” he trailed off awkwardly.

“Oh Merlin no!” I said quickly and loudly, causing everyone to look over at us for a moment. “Uh, I mean, we are just friends,” I started to ramble but couldn’t manage to make myself shut up. “Just really good friends who do friendly things… like be friends!” You can stop any time now mouth!

Luckily, Remus was laughing, and not in the ‘I think you’re crazy’ way, but in a nice way.

I think.

Maybe.

Remus and I talked all through dinner. He laughed at the rubbish that my mouth produced. I had to restrain myself so that I didn’t leap on him like a crazy person and try and snog him.

“Now that we are all full, how about we walk off our tea by going on a night time adventure!” Verona said and clapped his hands excitedly. He seemed to do that a lot. I wish he wouldn’t.

I wanted to call out, ‘Erm actually, I would hate to go on a night time adventure with you Sir,’ but I didn’t. Some of the other students were actually looking keen and even the Marauders seemed interested in going. So in the end I gave in to Verona’s relentless enthusiasm and followed the others as they started getting up.

We all had to stop by our tents to get out our torches that had come with the camping gear. I still much preferred using my wand as a light but torches were just as effective. When we found them, Lily showed Alice and I how to use them. I flicked mine on and off multiple times before Lily threatened to hit me with it if I didn’t stop. I had the cheek to flick it one more time, just to annoy her. She glared at me but I just smiled innocently back.

By the time us girls had all struggled out of our tent armed with our torches, most of the class had already started off in the direction of the lake. The Marauders, Maisy, Frank and, unfortunately, Jessica were standing waiting for us and I noticed that all of the guys were wearing jumpers. How silly of them! We are going on a walk! They are bound to get hot. Honestly, boys are so dumb sometimes.

Alice immediately brightened at the sight of Frank. Lily and I nudged her in the ribs, not very subtly. She turned a bright red and threatened to curse us if we didn’t stop it. She managed to do it while smiling brilliantly at Frank who smiled shyly back at her.

In our own group, we trudged off after the rest of the class. I could see Professor Verona leading the way. He was pointing up at the stars and then he would point off in the direction of the trees. He was really enjoying himself. What is wrong with him?

The class ahead of us got further and further away as they rounded the far side of the lake. Our group was walking slowly, talking and kicking rocks away. I was actually having a nice time. The Hogwarts grounds were lit by the large moon and I had managed to find myself walking closely next to Remus. Sirius and Peter were busy shining their torches into each other’s eyes while Jessica and Maisy cheered them on. James and Lily were walking close together and holding hands. They were talking softly to each other and I had the insane urge to go ‘AWW’ loudly.

I restrained myself though. Lily would have killed me.

As we rounded the lake I started to get a bit cold. I know I called the boys dumb for wearing jumpers but I take it back. Well sort of. They are still dumb sometimes, they just so happened to be right about wearing a jumper.

We kept walking and I got colder. The wind that was coming in off the lake felt like it was about minus a hundred million degrees. Well maybe not that extreme but close to it. I quickly rubbed my hands together so that they didn’t fall off. I’m sure it could happen!

“Are you cold?” Remus asked from beside me and I jumped. I had been so lost in thought about becoming a human popsicle that I had almost forgotten what I was doing.

“Oh no I’m fine!” I tried to say dismissively but Remus raised his eyebrows, obviously not believing me.

“You are a terrible liar,” he said and grinned at me before he took his jumper off. “Here, wear this. I don’t really need it.” And he handed it to me.

Like the ridiculous fool that I am, I just held it in my hands, staring at it. I had the intense urge to smell it. I didn’t thank God, but it was close. Then a gust of wind hit me and I was shaken out of my thoughts of smelling things that belonged to Remus.

“Are you sure? I mean I don’t want to make you cold!” I said but I was already pulling it over my head. It was too big for me but that’s what made it so comfortable. It was still warm from his body heat and smelt just as good as I thought it would. Remus laughed and shook his head.

“I’m sure! You look very cute in it,” he said and I swear I saw the hint of blush on his cheeks.

I blushed a bright tomato red at his words and tried to control the dopey smile that was working its way onto my face. “Thank you,” I sort of mumbled. “You do know you’re never getting this back right?” I said with a grin. I am not kidding. I am keeping this forever.

“Oh aren’t I?” Remus asked with a teasing tone. I shook my head and poked my tongue out at him. We had fallen behind the others but didn’t hurry to catch up with them.

“Well then I guess I will just have to take it from you!” Remus said playfully and before I knew it, his hands were at my waist and he was pretending to lift the bottom of his jumper. I giggled and tried to wriggle away but he closed the distance between us and held me in a big hug, his arms wrapped around my lower back.

“What are you going to do now?” he asked, looking down at me with a mischievous smile. “I have you trapped.”

My whole body, which was just a moment ago freezing, now felt like it was on fire. I had never felt so close to Remus before. I could feel his warm breath on my neck which made my breathing speed up. My heart was pounding a thousand miles an hour and I was sure Remus would be able to hear it.

My hands, as if on their own accord, slowly slid up to Remus’ shoulders. My fingers were touching the exposed flesh of his neck and I slowly rubbed my thumbs over it. I felt Remus’ skin react and I tried to hid my smile. It felt so right and comfortable, that I didn’t even have to time to freak out about what I was doing.

“Oh I don’t know,” I pretended to sigh sadly. “I guess I am at your mercy,” I finished and tried not to laugh.

We were completely alone now. I could see that our friends and Verona’s group were on the other side of the lake by their flashlights. The only noise was the gentle lapping of the water hitting the rocks and the pounding of my heart in my ears.

“Well in that case…” Remus trailed off and he leaned towards me. My heart rate speed up so fast that I thought it would explode out of my chest. My stomach erupted in butterflies as I stared at his face coming closer and closer. His eyes dropped from mine, to my lips and back again. I lightly bit my lip and I saw Remus give a tiny smile.

Both of our eyes fluttered closed and I tilted my chin up just in time, allowing my lips to meet Remus’ in our first kiss.

A/N: Hey guys! So what did you think of that ending? I can nearly hear all of you cheering wildly and shouting, “Finally!”

I thought it was about time that Shaylee and Remus got their act together. I really hoped you liked it! Leave me a review letting me know what you thought. Liked it? Hated it? Just glad that James and Lily didn’t come barging in on them this time?

As always, a huge thank you and a hug to everyone who has read and reviewed! You guys are amazing! :D xx

“Well in that case…” I trailed off and without even really realising it, I started leaning towards Shaylee. My arms were still around her and it was a wonderful feeling. There were butterflies in my stomach and I felt nervous. It was like I suddenly couldn’t control myself around Shaylee. When had that happened? It has sort of snuck up on me I think.

When I realised that I may like her as more than a friend, I hadn’t decided if I was going to do anything about my feelings. If anything, I was leaning more towards trying to forget about those feelings and just trying to stay friends. I mean, I’m a werewolf for Merlin’s sake! I had dated before but those relationships had never lasted long. No matter how careful I was the girl always got suspicious. I don’t think any of them have put two and two together but that was because I was never with them long enough to give them the chance.

But this thing with Shaylee, it’s different. We are friends and quite good ones at that. I’ve gotten to know her and she’s gotten to know me. What if we start dating, (that’s assuming she even likes me), and she starts picking up on the clues? She’s smart, I’m sure she could figure it out. What then?

Oh Merlin, what am I doing?! I can’t kiss Shaylee! I will probably kiss her and she will instantly know my secret! She will scream in horror and then push me into the lake before running away!

Just as I was about to take a step away to distance us, Shaylee lightly bit her lip. I couldn’t help but smile a little. I’ve noticed that she does that when she seems nervous or is thinking. It was cute and sexy at the same time but I’m sure she didn’t realise it was either.

Oh bugger it!

I slowly leaned down as my eyes closed and felt Shaylee’s soft lips meet mine. I felt relief and excitement that she was responding and not pushing me away. Both of our lips were cool from the cold air but I hardly noticed. The kiss started off soft and tentative. It felt like there was a nervousness that we both shared. I began to worry that she didn’t actually want to kiss me and that the shock was wearing off and that she would soon push me away.

But that didn’t happen. Instead Shaylee deepened the kiss. Her hands that were just moments ago rubbing my neck and shoulders, slowly slid up the back of my neck and into my hair. I shivered slightly at the feeling. My hands that were wrapped around her lower back moved to her waist and pulled her body closer to mine.

Her lips were so soft and inviting that I just couldn’t stop. I was completely lost in her and the feeling she gave me. Our lips, which were moving one moment slowly and then the next fiercely, seemed to fit each other’s perfectly. I don’t know how long our kiss lasted but we both finally allowed it to slowly come to an end, both in great need of breath.

Wow.

I opened my eyes to look at Shaylee and wanted to kiss her all over again. The moon light was shining on her beautiful face as she smiled up at me. Her hand reached up to my face and she brushed her fingers lightly across my cheek, much the same way she had done that time in the great hall. I closed my eyes, as I had that day, at the feeling.

“Are you okay? You have looked ill for days…” she said in a soft voice.

The memory of the words she had said in the great hall came rushing back to me suddenly. My eyes flew open as if she had actually spoken the words just now. She looked surprised at my sudden reaction and her fingers froze on my face. Before I could say or do anything, there was a loud cry of pain that came from the other side of the lake.

I reluctantly let go of Shaylee as we both turned towards the opposite side of the lake where many torch lights were shining. They all seemed to be pointing towards the ground but it was too far away for us to see what at exactly.

“We’d better go see what’s going on,” I said softly to Shaylee and she nodded. I bent to pick up our torches that I hadn’t realised we’d dropped.

We quickly made our way around the lake, the voices of the Muggle Studies class getting louder. We didn’t say anything to each other as we hurried along.

Oh Merlin, what have I done?! I’ve ruined our friendship! She regrets kissing me and now feels too awkward to say anything. Or maybe she’s figured me out! She’s already noticed once how ill I look before the full moon; the feeling of her fingers touching my face reminded me of that. What if she…

My panicky thoughts were cut short as Shaylee and I finally reached the rest of the class. It took me a second to understand what was going on.

“Lily!” Shaylee said in shock as she rushed towards Lily. “Are you okay? What happened?!”

Lily was sprawled on the ground, grimacing in pain as she held her ankle. Shaylee knelt down next to James, who had Lily’s head in his lap. Lily, who was in no shape to answer, just shook her head as tears trailed down her face.

“She stepped and tripped in that hole there,” Alice said shining her torch on a deep hole that could have been home to any small animal. “We think she may have broken her ankle.”

“Where’s Professor Verona?!” Shaylee asked looking around for the missing professor. She was holding Lily’s free hand with both of her own and by the looks of it Lily was squeezing it back tightly.

“He’s gone to get his wand from camp,” James said as he gently stroked Lily’s hair and made comforting sounds.

At that moment the class turned as we heard, “I’m here! I’m here! Nobody panic!” Professor Verona panted as he ran back to his class. He looked frazzled and a lot like he was panicking more so than anyone else.

Verona knelt by Lily and said in what I think he thought was a calming voice. “Everything is going to be alright Lily! We are going to levitate you to the hospital wing and get you fixed up in no time!” He was shouting slightly, as if Lily had suddenly gone deaf.

Lily just nodded her head and squeezed Shaylee’s hand harder. Merlin at this rate, young Madame Pomfrey will have two broken bones to mend.

“Here you go mate,” Sirius said, suddenly appearing with James’ wand.

“James I think it best if you take Lily up to the hospital wing and Mr Black you go with them just in case,” Verona said quickly. “I will stay here and look after the rest of the class.”

“Shaylee…” Lily said through gritted teeth and looked desperately at Verona.

Verona, who was looking more flustered by the minute, quickly said, “Yes, yes, Shaylee you go with them too. Once you take Miss Evans to the infirmary you three had better stay in the castle tonight. We don’t want any more accidents on the way back.”

James easily levitated Lily while Sirius led the way with his lit wand. Shaylee was still holding Lily’s hand and walked beside her. The whole class watched as they slowly made their way towards the dark castle. Just before they were swallowed by the darkness, Shaylee looked back over her shoulder at me.

The look she gave me made me more confused than I have ever been in my whole life.

Shaylee’s POV

“If you don’t stop bloody laughing I will curse you!” Lily threatened me darkly. The sight of her sitting up in the hospital wing bed with her arms crossed and twigs in her hair only made me laugh more. It wasn’t really funny that Lily was hurt, it was just so ridiculous that she stepped in a hole because she was too busy telling Sirius off for being an idiot.

“I’m sor- sorry Lily,” I said through my giggles. God, what is wrong with me? Remus’ kiss has probably exploded my brain.

I suddenly stopped laughing.

Oh my God!

Remus has kissed me! Remus Lupin has kissed me and it was amazing! And I didn’t do anything stupid… I think.

But then why did he suddenly start acting so weird when I touched his face? Come to think of it, the same thing happened when we were in the great hall. I must have done something wrong. God, I probably poked him in the eye by accident!

Ohhh but our kiss had been so amazing! Just thinking about it now makes my whole body feel all gooey. What does it mean though? Are we dating? Did Remus just fancy a bit of a snog? Did he mistake me for someone else and accidentally kiss me?!

Tell me!

“Shaylee, are you okay? You look like you’re about to have a panic attack,” Sirius said to me softly. He was looking at me with concern. I looked at him wide-eyed and a little crazily. His concern turned into alarm.

“I’m fine!” I practically shouted but didn’t sound very fine. I think I am having a panic attack. Why did Remus kiss me?! I mean don’t get me wrong, of course I wanted him to kiss me, but now that he has, I don’t know what to do!

Lily, James and Sirius were all looking at me. I stared back at them, possibly a little cross-eyed. I was saved from saying anything by Madame Pomfrey bustling into the hospital wing from her little office.

“Alright you three, Miss Evans needs some rest. Her ankle is just fine but I think it is best she stays the night,” Pomfrey said to us sternly.

James looked like he was going to protest but one look from Pomfrey and he gave in. He gave Lily a quick kiss before he followed Sirius out of the hospital wing.

“Get some rest Lily!” I said and gave her a hug. As I was pulling away, Lily grabbed my arm and gave me a knowing look.

“When I get out of here tomorrow you have to promise to tell me everything!” She said to me in a low voice.

Merlin, she knows! I shouldn’t be so surprised. Lily is all knowing.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I said in an ‘I’m-having-a-panic-attack’ voice. I then ran out of there before she could question me.

I almost crashed into Sirius and James as I leapt out of the hospital wing doors. They both stared at me. I have no time for people staring at me! I am having an inner panic attack!

“Erm, well, goodnight!” I said and tried to casually walk away. I don’t think I was very casual. I may have looked like I needed to go to the loo.

As soon as I was around the corner and out of sight of James and Sirius, I started running. I ran all the way back to the crowded common room, which was noisy and filled with students playing games and chatting. Well, okay. I didn’t run the WHOLE way. I did try though. Sort of. I glanced at the clock and realised it was after 9:30 on a Saturday night. That explained why the common room was so crowded. I was thankful that my dorm would be empty.

I quickly made my way towards the girl’s staircase, fully intending to flop onto my bed and obsess over Remus long into the night. But when I opened the door I didn’t find the room empty like I had expected.

Demelza.

“What are you doing here?” I asked surprised. She glared at me from her position on her bed.

“This is my room too you know!” She shouted at me and I backed away slowly. As she yelled at me I noticed her red-rimmed eyes. Oh God! She is obviously upset! What do I do?! I don’t deal with crying people very well. And I don’t even like Demelza!

“Erm… Are you okay?” I asked hesitantly as I inched closer to the door. Please just say yes so I can leave…

“Do I look like I am okay?! Get out!” She shrieked and threw her pillow at me. I dodged it, and quickly stepped out the door before slamming it shut.

Well then.

What am I supposed to do now? I need to freak out but I’ve been banished from my room! I stood glaring at the door and considered going back in there and telling her I wasn’t going to leave. But then I remembered the look on her face and decided against it. I did want to live through the night.

I went back down to the common room, for lack of anywhere else to go. I was just about to kick a first year out of a comfy seat when I saw a boy coming down from the boy’s staircase.

Hmm…

Without stopping to think, I changed direction and quickly made my way over to the boy’s staircase. I glanced around nervously but no one was paying me any attention. I snuck up the stairs hoping I wouldn’t run into a guy. Thankfully, I didn’t and was able to slip into the deserted seventh year boy’s dorm.

Ahh this is much better. It’s nice and quiet and there are no crazed girls hurling things at me. I took a second to look around the room. It looked much the same it had the last time I was in here with Lily and Alice. I made my way over to Remus’ bed and sat down.

I am sitting on Remus Lupin’s bed. Would it be weird of me to smell his pillow?

I know you are answering, ‘Yes of course it is you weirdo!’ But I don’t care.

“Shit Shaylee!” Sirius exclaimed loudly from the doorway. I screamed in surprise and flung the pillow I was hugging away from me. I hadn’t heard Sirius and James coming up the stairs. “What are you doing in here?!” Sirius asked his voice still a little higher than normal from his shock.

“Well… Um…” I mumbled as I quickly got up from Remus’ bed. James and Sirius were standing in their doorway looking at me questioningly. Why didn’t I think of something to say before I came up here?! Deciding on the truth, I said “I got kicked out of my room and couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.”

James and Sirius looked at each other before they cracked up laughing. I automatically went into defense mode. “Hey! It is not funny! Demelza looked crazed! She could have killed me!” I said loudly over their laughter. I even had my hands on my hips and everything! It didn’t help in the slightest.

James was the first to stop laughing. He walked towards his bed and as he passed me, he ruffled my hair. “You are a top girl Shaylee,” He grinned at me. I don’t know if he is being sarcastic or not. I’m just going to pretend he meant it.

He started digging around in his messy trunk and pulled out a silvery cloak. I stared at it open mouthed. “Is that an invisibility cloak?!” I asked in shock. James just casually turned around and smiled at me. He then pulled the cloak over himself. One minute he was there and the next he wasn’t. I gaped at the spot where he had vanished.

This is one strange night.

“See you two later,” James’ voice came from the doorway. I looked at the doorway but only saw Sirius leaning casually against the wall, smirking at my amazed look.

“Bye mate, say hi to Lily for me,” Sirius said with a cheeky grin. As Sirius flopped onto his bed, the dormitory door slammed shut on its own.

My brain just cannot handle all of this tonight. I pushed my questions about the freaking invisibility cloak to the back of my mind.

“Okay, so tell me what’s going on,” Sirius said as he put his hands behind his head and stretched out on his bed.

“Nothing!” I said a little too quickly. Sirius just gave me a raised eyebrow. “What would make you ask that?” I asked a little more casually.

He rolled his eyes. “Oh I don’t know. Maybe the fact that you have been acting like more of crazy person than normal,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. I glared at him while he only smirked.

“You are so annoying!” I grumbled but I ended up sitting next to him on his bed.

“Tell your old buddy Sirius what’s wrong,” Sirius said and I couldn’t help but laugh. Stupid Sirius and making me want to tell him everything. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say this has something to do with Remus?” Sirius said waiting for my reaction.

There was no point in denying it. So I told him.

Everything.

“And then he kissed me and it was amazing and wonderful and all sorts of incredible!” I said and flopped backwards on Sirius’ bed. “But then he started acting weird and before I could even ask him what I did wrong, we heard Lily hurt herself in a bloody hole!” I finished and felt exhausted from all the talking. I did feel slightly better though. Sirius is a great person to freak out to.

“Hmm I see…” Sirius said and pretended to stroke an imaginary beard. I just looked at him.

I take that back. He is a crap person to freak out to!

“Sirius! I am being serious right now!” I said in a bit of a huff.

“I think you will find that I am being Sirius,” he said and smirked at me.

“No you’re not! You’re being a prat!” I grumbled and went to get off his bed so I could storm off in a spectacular fashion. Before I could even sit up properly, Sirius grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

“Oh don’t be like that Shaylee. I’m sorry okay?” he said in his ‘sorry’ voice. I grumbled some more but ended up lying next to him. Is it weird that I feel so comfortable around Sirius? I mean I am lying next to him in his bed! And it feels totally normal. I’m sure if anyone saw us like this they would get the complete wrong idea. But there wasn’t anything going on to get the wrong idea about, so I curled up next him.

“I’m so confused,” I admitted in a small voice. My brain isn’t built to handle things like this. The biggest thing I have ever had to deal with is whether or not to have toast or cereal for breakfast!

Sirius put his arm comfortingly around me and said, “I’m sure you didn’t do anything wrong Shaylee,” I made a disbelieving noise at that. “Don’t do that!” Sirius said, suddenly sounding a little angry.

I looked up at his face and he was looking at me intently. “Do what?” I asked, looking away from his gaze.

“Stop putting yourself down so much!” he said in the same annoyed tone. “You get so down on yourself and you have no reason too!”

I squirmed uncomfortably. “I-I don’t know what this has to do with me and Remus,” I bumbled, trying to avoid the subject.

I heard Sirius sigh and felt him shaking his head. “This has everything to do with you and Remus. You said you thought you did something wrong. Unless you shoved him into the lake or bit his tongue off, I’m pretty sure you didn’t do anything wrong!”

I sat up then and glared at Sirius. I know I wasn’t really angry at him but took it out on him anyway. “How would you know if I did something wrong? Were you there? No! I was! And I’m pretty sure I’m a bad kisser! That was my first ‘real’ kiss! I mean there was that thing with Aiden but that doesn’t count! He stole it from me! And what if Remus liked me until I kissed him?! As soon as we looked at each other for more than a minute, he froze as if he was suddenly looking at a troll!” I was shouting and rambling but I couldn’t stop. I had thought I had gotten it all out before but I was wrong.

And I wasn’t finished.

“All I did was touch his face! And this isn’t the first time! It happened once in the great hall and he did the same thing! Why Sirius, why?!” I asked like a crazy person. Sirius just looked at me. I sat there breathing heavily and staring at Sirius with definite lunatic eyes.

“Are you done?” he asked calmly.

I took a final deep breath. “Yes, I think so,” I said in a tiny voice.

“Okay,” Sirius said and pulled me back down next to him.

We laid there for a moment in silence. I do actually feel better. I think that was the freak out I really needed. And I will deny it if anyone ever tells him, but I was really glad to have Sirius there.

“Look Shaylee, you are an amazing girl. You’re funny, beautiful and a little bit crazy,” Sirius said in a soft voice and I laughed a little. “Any guy would be lucky to have you. And I know that you don’t want anyone but Remus. But you need to know that Remus’ life is… complicated.”

I turned to look at him and he was looking back at me very seriously. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“It’s not my place to say. But what I can say is that I know that Remus really likes you, and if you show him how much you like him, no matter what, he will tell you himself. So stop freaking out so much!” he said and laughed a little.

I was silent for a moment while I thought over what Sirius had just said. Remus’ life was complicated? How? And did he say that Remus really liked me? Ohhh this has just made me more confused! But Sirius had said so many nice things. I wonder if he shows this side of himself to the girls that he dates?

“Thank you Sirius,” I said and smiled at him. I gave him a kiss on the cheek which made him smile.

“Okay, okay enough mushy girl stuff!” he said and he hit me with a pillow. I protested but let him win this time. “Have I ever told you about the time James and I charmed the suits of armor to chase Slytherines around?”

* * *

“What the hell?” someone said loudly and angrily.

“Go away Demelza, I didn’t use your shampoo,” I mumbled and rolled over. Well I would have rolled over if it wasn’t for someone’s arm around my waist. My eyes flashed open and found myself looking at someone’s chest.

Sirius!

Oh dear God.

I sat bolt up, well sort of. I got half way up before the weight of Sirius’ arm pulled me back down. I tried to shove it off of me and in the process, woke Sirius up.

“Wha’s goin’ on?” Sirius asked sleepily and sat up quickly, looking around in alarm. I took the chance to fully sit up and look at the person who had woken me up.

I wanted to lie back down.

It was Remus.

At first my face split into a huge smile at the sight of him. But then I saw that he was standing with his arms folded with a very un-Remus like glare on his face.

Uh-oh.

“Hey mate,” Sirius said cheerfully and stretched. I stared at Sirius like he was mental. Does he not see how bad this looks?! Remus just continued to glare with a hint of hurt and confusion on his face.

“Remus-” I started and went to get up but Remus cut me off.

“On no, don’t get up on my account. You two looked perfectly cozy just the way you were,” he almost spat and before I could even say anything, he turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door.

“What’s his problem?” Sirius asked, still looking sleepy and clueless.

I wanted to cry, scream, punch Sirius and die all at once. I did numbers two and three.

“Oh my god!” I shouted and gave Sirius a punch to the arm. “Are you thick?! Why was your arm around me? When did we fall asleep? How is it morning already?!” I was on my feet and pacing around in circles, throwing my hands in the air, as if that would help.

I think I was a little hysterical.

“Merlin, would you calm down?” Sirius asked as he got out his bed. I whirled around and glared at him. He took a step back.

“Do you not realise what just happened?” I shouted. “Remus, who kissed me, last night might I add, just saw me in your bed with your stupid arm around me!” Sirius looked offended at me calling his arm stupid but I didn’t let him say anything. “What do you suppose he is going to think? He is going to think that I am some super tart who hooks up with his best mate!” I was pacing again. I don’t know why I thought it would help, but I did it anyway.

“Oh shit…” Sirius said slowly, finally realising the problem. “Oh shit!” he said again, a look of panic on his face. “How did we fall asleep? You were supposed to go back to your own dorm!” Sirius looked just as panicked as I felt.

“What are we going to do?!” I asked, staring at Sirius and praying that he would have a brilliant idea.

He didn’t.

“I don’t know! Talk to him and explain what happened?” he asked more than stated.

As if that was going to work twice.

* * *

I crept down the boy’s staircase very quietly. If anyone else sees me leaving the boy’s dorms I will die. I poked my head around the corner at the bottom of the stairs and peeked into the common room. Thankfully, it was empty. I made a mad dash from the boy’s staircase and up the girls, all the way to my room. I opened the door and peered into the room. Demelza was nowhere to be seen, praise Merlin. Alice, however, was sitting on her bed brushing her hair.

“Hey Shaylee!” she said cheerfully and smiled at me. “Thank Merlin that camping trip is over! It was horrible sleeping in that tent last night without you and Lily there!” she said and pouted.

I had almost completely forgotten about the camping trip. What about all of my stuff?!

“I brought yours and Lils camping gear back with me,” Alice said, answering my unspoken question. She pointed to the bags on mine and Lily’s bed. “Your wand is on the bedside table.”

I smiled gratefully at her. “Thanks so much Alice!” I said and sat on my bed. “You’re back early. I thought Professor Verona said the camping trip was meant to be until Sunday evening.”

“No problem,” she said and smiled. “And yeah it was supposed to be but he decided to cut it short, with Lily getting hurt and all,” She then looked at me suspiciously. “Hey speaking of early, you’re awake. I thought for sure you would be sleeping in until noon!”

Oh no! She’s on to me! She knows! Quick, abort mission! Run away! Do something!

“Oh, um, yeah I was… hungry! And I needed a shower! I was too lazy to have one last night,” I was rambling and acting very shifty. Alice was looking at me as if she didn’t believe a word I was saying. “So I think I will go take one right now and head down to breakfast!” I said quickly and gathered up some clean clothes.

“Okay…” Alice said, shaking her head and laughing. That was the good thing about Alice; she didn’t push you for information. I just didn’t feel ready to tell her the whole mess of a story.

I took my clothes and hurried off to the bathroom. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and cringed. Oh God! I had sex hair! Well, of course it was really sex hair, but that’s what it looked like! No wonder Remus looked at me like I was the skank of England. Why didn’t my hair look like ‘two friends lying in a bed talking all night before accidentally falling asleep’ hair? Why?!

I climbed into the shower and just stood under the hot water.

What am I going to do?

* * *

Don’t judge me. I know you are judging me! Stop it!

Okay, I know I should have tracked Remus down and tried to explain the whole situation. I could have even made a light hearted joke about it. I might have even made up an accompanying interpretive dance. Or most likely, thrown myself at his feet and begged him to believe me.

But I didn’t.

I’m scared okay! I am a big coward and shouldn’t belong in Gryffindor. I think the sorting hat was confused or drunk when it sorted me. Or maybe it just wanted to get rid of me because it was alarmed by what it saw in my head.

My stomach grumbled and I sighed. I also coughed and spluttered a bit when I inhaled a decent amount of dust. Maybe hiding in a dirty old broom closet wasn’t the best idea, but I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go. After my shower this morning, I had practically ran past Alice telling her I was going to breakfast. I didn’t go to breakfast though. What if Remus was there?!

So instead I went to the sixth floor and found a broom closet that looked like it hadn’t been opened since Godric Gryffindor roamed the corridors. I’ve been in here for a couple of hours I think, but I’m not really sure. I’m pretty sure I fell asleep for a while and I know I spent a long time slowly replaying everything that had happened. How could so much happen in such a small amount of time?

“Shaylee…” Someone called from outside the door and jiggled the handle. I froze and stared at the door in horror. “I know you’re in there Shaylee. Open the door!”

I relaxed when I recognized the voice.

Sirius jumped when I yanked the door open suddenly.

“You are covered in dust,” he said blankly. “What are you doing in there?”

“Oh nothing, just brewing a potion!” I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes. How does he always find me?! It is very frustrating when you can’t even hide in a cupboard in peace.

Sirius rolled his eyes. “What are you really doing?”

I looked away from him and mumbled, “Hiding…”

Sirius nodded. “I tried to talk to Remus…” he said in a low voice and he looked away from me.

My stomach dropped out of my body as I stared at Sirius. He looked so unlike his usual joking self. He looked sad, confused and a little angry all at the same time.

“What happened?” I asked in a tiny voice, not sure if I wanted to know the answer.

Sirius blew out a rush of breath and shook his head. “He’s really angry at me,” Sirius said and my heart panged. “He told me to leave him alone and wouldn’t even let me try and explain.”

I felt tears spring up in my eyes at the sight of Sirius. This was all my fault. I shouldn’t have gone up to the boy’s dorm last night. It’s my fault that Remus and Sirius were fighting. They’ve been best mates for years! I’ve never felt this bad in my entire life.

“Sirius…” I said in a choked voice. “I’m so sorry!” I said and couldn’t help the tears that started. Sirius took one look at me before he pulled me into a hug.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” he said and let me go. “Look, maybe if we give him a while to calm down, he might be willing to listen. He might even think it’s funny!”

Sure, and I’m a hippogriff.

* * *

Curse you hungry stomach!

I couldn’t put it off any longer. I was starving and it was dinner time. With a sigh and trying to not look too depressed, I walked into the crowded great hall.

My eyes automatically went to the place at the Gryffindor table that my friends and I normally sat at. I didn’t know if I was relieved or sad that Remus wasn’t there. Lily, Alice, Frank, James, Peter and Sirius were there however. I smiled at Lily and returned her wave but the smile fell from my face just as quickly.

I had spent the rest of the afternoon moping around the sixth floor after Sirius left to go to an emergency quidditch training session. He had offered to stay and keep my company but I wanted to be alone. Before he left, I had made him promise not to tell anyone. I didn’t want everyone to know and have to pick sides.

“Hi Lily, how’s you ankle?” I tried to ask in my normal voice as I sat down next to Alice. Lily, who was being distracted by James, didn’t seem to notice anything different.

“It’s fine!” Lily said and grinned at me. “That was one way to get out camping,” she said and we all laughed. Well most of us. Sirius didn’t even pretend to laugh. He was pushing his food around on his plate, looking moody and closed off.

Dinner passed rather normally. I tried to be my usual stupid self but my heart wasn’t in it. No one commented though which I was thankful for. There was one tense moment when Peter asked where Remus was. Sirius and I both froze and didn’t look up from our plates. James said that Remus was working on an ancient runes essay in the library and wasn’t hungry. No one thought that was weird and the conversation changed to what homework was due tomorrow.

After dinner we all headed back up to the common room. Sirius didn’t say anything. He just went up the boys staircase. I saw James frown at stairs. Oh god! Don’t ask me what’s wrong with him!

“Uh, wow I am so tired!” I said quickly as James turned to me. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight!” I quickly went up the girl’s staircase before anyone could say anything.

I closed the door and was filled with relief when I realised that Demelza wasn’t there armed with a pillow. I showered and put on my pajamas. I drew the curtains around my bed and pulled the covers up over my head.

How did everything get so complicated?

A/N:Hi everyone! So I’m terribly sorry about the long wait! I’ve started a new job so I have been very preoccupied with that. But I wanted to post this before the queue closed. Please don’t kill me for Remus and Shaylee not suddenly getting married and skipping off into the sunset. :P

I know this chapter is a little different from the way I normally write. It has a bit more drama for one thing. I hope you guys liked it though! If it was a massive fail then I’m sorry!

I have a couple of things I want to tell you guys. Firstly, I have started a Meet the Author thread over on the forums. So if you have any questions about this story or anything, head on over there and I’ll be happy to answer them! You can find the link on my story page.

Secondly, I have been thinking about getting a beta reader to go over the posted chapters and helping me fix any mistakes and all that jazz. I often re-read my chapters but my brain doesn’t pick up on mistakes because I know what is supposed to be there haha. So if you’re interested, let me know!

Thank you all so much for reading! You guys are truly amazing! xx

P.S: How was the kiss description? Horrible? Corny? Okay? Haha, let me know with a review!

I am never leaving my bed. Well, actually I might leave it to go to the loo… But that’s it! I am going to stay here forever and mope.

I wonder if I could talk the house elves into bringing me food? Preferably chocolate. Lots of chocolate! Ooh and ice-cream!

Bugger, now I’ve made myself hungry…

I can hear Lily moving around, getting dressed and such. My hangings are closed but I still know it is Lily because she is so bloody LOUD! Just because she is a morning person who doesn’t feel like stabbing someone because it is so early.

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Scuffle. Scuffle.

Jesus, what is she doing?! It sounds like she is slow dancing with a pirate who has lost a sword fight and now has a wooden leg.

Oh well, what do I care anyway? I am never leaving this bed.

Ever.

Clunk. Scuffle.

I can’t stand this!

“Lily! What the bloody hell are you doing?!” I asked, ripping back the hangings around my bed. Lily smirked at me.

“I knew if I was loud enough you would eventually get up!” she said with an innocent smile.

I glared at her. “I hate you,” I said grumpily and stomped off to the bathroom. Maybe if I take ages she will get tired of waiting for me and leave. Then I can snuggle back into Sulky Central, or you could call it my bed I suppose, and contemplate why Merlin hates me.

“Love you too! Don’t take too long,” she called and I just knew she was smiling. Stupid happy people. What do they have to be so happy about anyway?

I suppose Lily does has a great boyfriend… she’s really pretty and smart… she doesn’t say stupid things… and she doesn’t get herself into incriminating situations with her best friend, only to have her maybe boyfriend walk in on them…

Like I said, stupid happy people.

About a million and ten years later I cracked open the bathroom door. Surely Lily will have gone down to breakfast. I mean she is the one who is always telling me that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. She wouldn’t be able to resist going down and getting something before classes.

Lily and Alice were sitting on my bed munching on toast. They just looked at me and smiled. I looked at them and frowned.

“You’re eating toast on my bed,” I said stating the obvious. Knowing my luck they will get crumbs in my bed and I will be carried off by ants in the middle of the night. They will probably make me their queen!

Shut up brain!

“I got you some,” Alice said through a mouthful and held out a couple of slices to me. It did smell good…

I couldn’t help myself; I took the toast and sat cross-legged on my bed.

“Aha! You have taken my offering of toast! That means that you are obligated to tell us what is going on!” Alice said with a triumphant look on her face.

Bugger. The old toast trick had gotten me again.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, avoiding looking at the two girls. I didn’t even have to look at them to know that they were rolling their eyes.

“Oh come on Shaylee!” Lily said sounding exasperated. “We barely saw you yesterday so you were obviously hiding somewhere.”

“And you were acting really strange last night at dinner,” Alice chimed in. “Well stranger than normal.” She had to duck the pillow I threw at her.

“Now you are extra grumpy this morning,” Lily fixed me with a knowing look. “So tell us what’s wrong.”

I heaved a big sigh and looked at my two friends. They were looking at me expectedly with sincere looks of worry on their faces.

So I told them the whole story.

* * *

“I still cannot believe it,” Alice said for about the millionth time as her and Lily physically dragged me towards Transfiguration.

After I had told Lily and Alice about the mess I was in, they just sat there and stared blankly at me. Cheers guys, very helpful. In the end they asked me about a million and one questions and then Alice started with her whole ‘I can’t believe it’ business.

I wasn’t sure which part she couldn’t quite believe. Maybe it was the fact that Remus Lupin kissed me. Or maybe it was more the whole getting caught innocently sleeping next to Sirius thing. Whatever. I don’t care. My life is over. People whose lives are over do not care about anything.

Well, except for going to class and having to see Remus.

I wrestled myself out of Lily and Alice’s grip and stopped. We were nearly at the Transfiguration classroom and I couldn’t take it anymore.

“I am not going into that room!” I said stubbornly and folded my arms.

“Shaylee, the longer you put off seeing Remus, the worse it will be,” Lily said to me kindly and squeezed my arm. “Alice and I are here for you and we are going to try and help in any way that we can.”

Ohhh why does she have to be so nice?! Why couldn’t they be crap friends that let me lock myself in my room forever and destroy my education?!

“Come on, we’ll go in together,” Alice said and linked her arm through mine. As we walked through the door, my stomach felt like it was going to fall out of my body. I wanted to be sick, run away and laugh, all at the same time.

I’m a nervous laugher.

The bell rang just as we closed the door. McGonagall, who was standing behind her desk, said in her stern voice, “Quickly find your seat ladies,” before turning to the board and flicking her wand.

Lily and Alice had to hurry off to their seats on the other side of the classroom while I slid into mine next to Sirius.

I was all too aware that Remus was sitting just a few seats away from me. I had to control the urge to fling myself at him and beg him to forget anything had ever happened.

I gave Sirius a tiny smile because that was all that I could manage. Sirius just looked at me sadly. The twinge of guilt in my stomach started again. I looked away because I thought my eyes might start leaking.

Ten years later, or it felt like that long, old McGonagall was still raving on. I wasn’t listening in the slightest. I was doodling on a piece of parchment. I had tried to make myself feel better by drawing Demelza being sat on by a dragon but not even that worked.

I have never felt this crap in my entire life. Is this what normal teenagers go through? If so, I want no part in it.

The bell finally rang and everyone practically hurtled out of the classroom. I was moving slowly and just chucking things into my bag, not really caring. There was a sort of scuffling noise and I looked up to see Remus glaring down at all of his parchment that had just fallen onto the floor. There were only a couple of students left in the room.

I took a deep breath. I can do this. I can do this. I can-

I can’t do this!

But my legs didn’t seem to have gotten the message because before I knew it, I was walking towards Remus. He looked up when I was standing in front of him. He was just looking at me and everything I wanted to say to him got stuck in my throat.

“Remus-” I started but then couldn’t finish.

Remus heaved a sigh and said in a sort of angry voice, “Look, let’s just leave it alright? It never would have worked out between us anyway.”

And then he walked away.

I stood there staring after him like a fool.

* * *

Two weeks. Two weeks have passed since the ‘Sirius Incident’ happened. Remus won’t even look at me and hasn’t said a word to me since that Transfiguration lesson. He has swapped seats so he doesn’t have to sit next to me in classes. He is sitting next to Germy Jamie. That is how desperate he is to avoid me.

Even Lily has gotten fed up with me being depressed. She told me to stop being ‘mean and horrible’. I told her that I cannot help it. That is what depressed people do.

James seems to be in a constant state of confusion lately. He doesn’t know whose side he is supposed to be on so he has tried to not be on any ones. That just made Remus and Sirius even more annoyed. Remus and Sirius haven’t spoken again.

Everyone seemed to have a go at talking to Remus on my behalf but he wasn’t having any of it. I had gotten ‘accidentally’ hit with hexes for the last week or so by girls who blamed me for breaking up the Marauders. The worse was when a fifth year girl got me with a jelly-leg jinx when I was tying my shoe. I wobbled around for ages and accidentally crashed into a suit of armor before Lily came to my rescue.

I was moodily stomping my way to Charms, dragging my school bag along behind me. What is the point? Life is so poo. I wish I could just fly off on the back of a hippogriff and never come back. Well, maybe not. I’m afraid of heights.

I stomped into the girl’s loo on the third floor. I cringed at my reflection. But then again, what do I care if I look like a troll who has been in a bad fight. I will never get a boyfriend anyway so there is no point in trying really.

Just as I locked the cubicle door, I heard the bathroom door open. Great, now some random girl is going to hear me peeing.

“I cannot believe that you are going to Hogsmeade with Remus!” said a girl. I instantly froze. At the mention of Remus’ name, my stomach dropped. Wait a minute… I know that voice!

“I know! I’m so excited!” replied another girl. I know that voice too!

It was the bloody Em and Em’s!

“I cannot tell you how glad I am that the Marauders seem to have gotten rid of that sad girl that was always hanging around them,” Emma said with a sneer in her voice. I clenched my fist as anger boiled up in stomach.

“I know right! Who did she think she was anyway? I heard that her and Remus had a falling out,” Emily said in a hushed voice.

My ear was practically glued to the crack in the door. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to cry or leap out of the cubicle and kick them violently in the shins.

“I heard that too! That’s just more good news for you! Do you think you two will snog on your date?” Emma asked with a giggle. I could hear their footsteps heading back towards the door.

I was only just able to catch Emily’s response before the door shut behind them. “I hope so! I bet he is a great kisser!”

He is a great kisser.

I think that’s when I sat on the loo seat and cried.

* * *

“Shaylee…” Lily said cautiously. I grunted at her.

I am in my bed of misery, never to leave. Again. I am serious this time. I had my blankets pulled up over my head. It was stuffy and I couldn’t quite breathe but whatever.

“Oh come on Shaylee! I know that you’re upset but it has been two weeks!” Lily said, finally becoming more than frustrated by my behavior.

I sat up in my bed at glared at her and Alice, who I hadn’t realised was there. The glaring effect was ruined slightly because my blankets were still half over my head. I yanked them off and then glared at them.

“That’s easy for you to say! Stupid Emily isn’t going to Hogsmeade with James or Frank!” I shouted and then punched my pillow. I have never realised just how violent I am. I never used to be. I blame Emily, because I can.

“I was in the bathroom today and Emma and Emily came in,” I said and glared at my pillow. “They were talking about how Emily is going to Hogsmeade with Remus this weekend and how they are going to snog and so on,” I mumbled. I hate her, I really do.

Alice looked appalled and said, “No!” very dramatically.

Lily looked shocked. “Really?” she asked.

“No, I’m lying to make myself feel better!” I snapped sarcastically. I instantly felt bad when Lily looked a bit put out. I must be nicer to her. After all, she is not the one who going to Hogsmeade with Remus. Emily is. UGH! I hate her!

“I’m sorry guys,” I said and gave her and Alice a spontaneous hug. “I’ve been really horrible these last couple of weeks. I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”

Lily gave me a small smile and they both hugged me back.

“It’s okay, I know you are upset,” Alice said and we all sat back. “I can’t believe Remus!”

“He is free to do whatever he wants,” I said miserably. It’s not like we are or were ever dating or anything. We only snogged once… Ohhh but it was so amazing! I really thought he liked me! Why Merlin, why?!

Alice looked hesitant before she said, “Well, do you think maybe it is time to move on from Remus?” I looked at and she hurried to continue. “I know you have liked him for a long time but maybe it is just not going to work out? If he is moving on, then maybe you should too?”

Lily looked like she wanted to protest but I didn’t give her the chance.

At Alice’s words I had a brilliant idea.

“Alice you are so right!” I said and swung my legs off of my bed. I quickly brushed my hair and pulled my shoes on.

“Where are you going?” Lily asked, standing up to face me.

“I have a plan,” I said and left the dorm room and my two very confused friends.

* * *

“Aiden! Hey Aiden! Wait up!” I shouted after Aiden as I chased him down the Charms corridor. He turned around and smiled when he saw it was me. I was relieved to see that it was him. Just five minutes ago I had startled a fifth year Slytherin boy. In my defense, he looked a lot like Aiden from behind!

“Hi Shaylee,” he said when I had caught up with him. Since my falling out with Remus, I had been spending a lot of time with Aiden. Sirius was sort of avoiding me and would not be caught alone in a room with me and Lily and Alice were off with their boyfriends a lot of the time.

“You wanna Hogsmeade me?” I suddenly blurted out. Aiden just stared at me. What the hell brain?! That is not even a proper sentence! And I wasn’t exactly planning on just coming right out and asking him to Hogsmeade!

My mastermind plan (that I had only thought up ten minutes ago) was not going so well.

“Uh, pardon?” Aiden asked, half amused, half confused.

I took a deep breath. The damage is done; I may as well get on with it. Though I wish I had been able to do it in a better way, perhaps thrown in a little ‘will you accompany me to Hogsmeade’ song or something.

“I meant would you like to come to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?” I said and smiled. Blimey, it actually came out right!

Aiden looked thoughtful for a second. Oh no! He is going to say ‘No way you lunatic!’ Not what I wanted at all.

But then he smiled. Like a proper happy smile that made me smile. Then we were just two crazy people smiling at each other in a deserted corridor.

“Sure, that sounds great,” Aiden said and grinned at me.

“Great, it should be a good day, just two mates hanging out,” I said and grinned back at him. At the word ‘mates’, Aiden face fell slightly. Oh Merlin! I hadn’t wanted him to think it was a date! I just didn’t want to go to Hogsmeade on my own!

…

Okay! You’ve got me. It was partly because I didn’t want to go to Hogsmeade on my own, but mostly because I wanted to make Remus ridiculously jealous.

Don’t judge me.

“Yeah right, as two mates,” Aiden said somewhat distractedly. “Well I’d better go, it’s almost curfew.” And with that he was off.

Ohhh no. Now I feel guilty! Is it wrong of me to use Aiden as a tool in my ‘Make Remus jealous’ ploy?

I’m guessing your answer is a resounding YES!

Maybe I should have thought this plan out before I put it into motion? There is nothing I can do now though. Maybe if Aiden and I have a fun day at Hogsmeade and avoid seeing Remus, that will mean I am not a horrible user type girly?

Heaving a sigh, I made my way back towards Gryffindor tower.

* * *

Saturday

“You’re making a big mistake,” Lily said to me in her disappointed voice for about the millionth time. As if I didn’t feel bad enough already, I had to listen to Lily constantly giving me lectures. I wish I had never told her.

All week she has been trying to get me to not go with Aiden but I’ve tried to ignore her. I mean, I can’t just tell Aiden that I don’t want to go with him anymore! That would hurt his feelings. And to be quite honest, I do sort of want to go with him. Like I had predicted, Lily was going with James, Alice was going with Frank and Sirius was going with stupid Jessica Russell, also known as the sleeping bag stealer.

There is no way in hell that I would become a third wheel on their dates. I am not that sad.

Yet.

I heaved a frustrated sigh and said, “Lily, would you please just leave it? He knows we are only going as friends,” I think. Maybe. But I didn’t say that to Lily. “I didn’t want to go on my own so that is why I asked Aiden.”

Lily looked at me with raised eyebrows. She does not believe me in the slightest. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her and Alice that I had a ‘plan’. Bugger.

“Fine, I won’t say anything more about it,” Lily grumbled and went back to putting her makeup on.

The guilty feeling in my stomach started up again. Oh poo.

* * *

“There you are!” said someone from behind me and I jumped. I may have sort of been lurking behind a statue in the Entrance Hall, trying to catch a glimpse of Remus and his stupid date. The Entrance Hall was so full of teenagers talking excitedly that I hadn’t heard Aiden coming. I also hadn’t seen Remus or Emily. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.

“Hi Aiden, it’s crazy in here isn’t it?” I said and smiled at him. Hmm, I know I have said that Aiden is quite a nice looking bloke, but today he looked… hot! And I don’t mean he looked particularly sweaty or anything. He was smiling back at me, his nice proper smile, and I felt a touch of the swoons coming on.

“Shall we go then?” Aiden asked and I nodded. He put his hand at the small of my back and started leading me out of the hall.

Ohhh Merlin, what am I doing? I am a terrible, terrible person. Why did I think this was going to be a good idea?! I can’t get out of it now. I will just have to be on high alert if any hint of ‘more-than-friends’ business starts.

Remus’ POV

“I’m not going Prongs, and that is final,” I said stubbornly as I sulked on my bed.

“You said you would go with her mate,” James said, though his voice was slightly muffled. He was practically inside his trunk, throwing what seemed like every piece of clothing he owned out of it. He was in search of the ‘perfect first date outfit’. He has been frantic all week, ever since Lily said she would go to Hogsmeade with him. He seems to be in constant surprise whenever Lily wants to spend time with him, even though she is now his girlfriend.

“I never said I would go with her!” I protested loudly and sat up on my bed. I had to stifle a laugh at the sight of James as he stood up from his trunk. His hair was all over the place, more so than normal, and he had a sock on his head. He didn’t even seem to notice.

“Yes, well you didn’t say otherwise though,” James pointed out and I groaned.

A couple of days ago, Emily ambushed me at the end of Potions. I had been so preoccupied with sneaking glances at Shaylee. She was sitting at her usual desk with that Slytherin prat, McKinnen. I didn’t want to look at her; in fact I wanted to forget about her. But I just couldn’t. All I could think about was her. I didn’t realise I was staring at Shaylee until she looked up suddenly. I tried to look away quickly but in the process I accidentally knocked half of my ingredients onto the floor.

As I was scrambling around trying to pick everything up, the bell rang and I thought I was the last one in the classroom until someone stood in front of me. For a second I thought it was Shaylee. But then I looked up and Emily was standing there smiling at me. I tried to ignore the fact that I was disappointed that it wasn’t Shaylee.

“Hi Remus!” Emily said and smiled at me. I stood up and managed to smile back at her, but it was mostly out of politeness.

“Hey Emily,” I said while I shoved the rest of my stuff into my bag. When I turned back around, Emily was practically on top of me, she was that close.

“Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?” She asked in what I think she thought was a seductive voice.

I was so put off by how uncomfortably close she was to me that all I managed to say back was, “Err…”

“Great! I will meet you in the Great Hall at nine!” she said happily and before I even knew what was happening, she kissed me on the cheek and then she was gone. I just stood there open mouthed in complete shock.

All I had said was ‘err…’! How did she manage to get, ‘I would love to go to Hogsmeade with you’ out of ‘err…’?!

Girls. Mental, I tell you.

After that I avoided Emily as best I could. I just didn’t know how to tell her I didn’t want to go with her. James had thought it was hilarious and now he is trying to make me go.

“Come on mate,” James said and came and sat next to me on my bed. “You have been cooped up for two weeks. I know you’re angry but maybe this is a good opportunity to get out and have a little fun!”

I heaved a huge sigh and stood up. Maybe James is right, maybe I do need to go and have some fun. “Fine!” I said and pulled on a clean shirt.

“That’s the spirit!” James said happily and clapped me on the back. “And maybe you might want to make it up with Sirius…?” James said hesitantly.

I looked at him and felt bad. I knew Sirius and I had put him in an awkward position by falling out. I mean, we had all been mates for so long. To be honest, I’m not even that angry at Sirius any more. I think I was just more hurt by Shaylee. They have both sworn that nothing happened and I think I believe them; I just couldn’t help thinking that something had.

Oh I don’t know. It’s all too complicated.

I do miss Sirius though.

…

And Shaylee.

I gave another sigh, having made up my mind and grumbled, “I might try and talk to him.” I really missed Sirius and I didn’t want to lose him as a mate over something like this. As for Shaylee, well I don’t know. I still fancy her so much but I have so much insecurity about her now. Maybe I should just focus on being mates with Sirius again first.

James grinned at me and gave me a spontaneous hug. He is in a ludicrously good mood now.

“That has just made my morning!” he said and practically skipped over to the door. “Wait until I tell Lily!”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help smiling a little. I flopped back onto my bed and stared at the ceiling.

As if he could read my mind, James popped his head back around the door and said, “Don’t even think about not going. Don’t make me drag you off that bed mate, because you know I will.”

Bugger.

* * *

“Remus! Hey Remus, over here!” a shrill voice called to me over the noise in the Entrance Hall. I tried not to groan out loud when I saw that it was Emily. She was waving madly at me. I gave her a weak smile and a little wave back.

“Have fun you two,” I said to James and Lily who had walked, or more so escorted, me down to the Entrance Hall. James grinned at me and grabbed Lily’s hand before leading her towards the large open doors.

As I turned to head over towards Emily, I bumped into someone. Emily was standing right in front of me with her hands on her hips. “You’re five minutes late, you bad boy!” she said and pouted at me. I just stared at her.

Oh Merlin, what have I gotten myself into?

“Er, I’m sorry?” I more so asked than stated.

“That’s okay, we’ll just have to think of a way to punish you later,” she said in a seductive voice and winked at me. I didn’t say anything back. I just stood there feeling ridiculously awkward.

“Shall we go?” I finally said and started off towards the open doors. Emily and I walked towards Hogsmeade, me feeling very uncomfortable and wondering what the hell I was doing here, while Emily kept up constant chatter. I had both of my hands in my pockets to protect them from Emily, who kept trying to grab hold of them.

When we made it into Hogsmeade, Emily exclaimed, “Let’s go to Madame Puddifoot’s!”

I just stared at her.

Surely she is joking.

She isn’t.

I had been to Madame Puddifoot’s only once and that was enough to last me a lifetime.

“Erm, wouldn’t you prefer to go to the Three Broomsticks?” I asked hopefully. Emily gave me her worst look.

“Why would we want to go to the boring old Three Broomsticks when we can go to Madame Puddifoot’s?” she asked me like I was the densest person in the world.

Ten minutes later I found myself outside of Madame Puddifoot’s. Why Merlin? Why?

I looked through the window at all of the Hogwarts student couples who were squashed into the small tea shop. I caught the eye of someone and I felt nervous.

Sirius was looking back out at me. He was sitting at the table by the window with Jessica Russell who was talking away to him. We looked at each other for a moment. Then suddenly Sirius mouthed ‘HELP ME!’ and gave me a tortuous look.

I couldn’t help but grin and laugh.

And just like that, by Sirius doing something so… so like Sirius, I instantly forgave him. Sirius grinned back at me and I swear I saw a look of relief sweep over his face.

Emily and I went into Madame Puddifoot’s and we pushed our way over towards Sirius and Jessica. When we finally got to the empty table next to them, Jessica and Emily squealed and started talking to each other excitedly.

Girls, I tell you.

That left Sirius and I to somewhat awkwardly look at each other. We hadn’t talked in almost two weeks, almost a record for us. Then Sirius suddenly stood and gave me a hug. I hugged him back and smiled.

We quickly let go though. We didn’t want to start rumors after all, though it wouldn’t be the first time.

“Mate I’m so so-…” Sirius started to say but I cut him off.

“Don’t even worry about it,” I said and clapped him on the back. It felt so good to have Sirius back as my friend. I hadn’t realised how lonely it was without him. “Wait until James finds out that we are mates again. He will probably have a meltdown!” I joked and Sirius laughed.

We turned when we heard someone clear their throat to get our attention. Shit, I had almost forgotten Emily. Emily and Jessica were standing there looking at Sirius and I. Sirius just smirked at Jessica before he started snogging her. She seemed to forgive him.

Emily was looking at me expectantly. Oh God, she expects me to kiss her as well!

“Err, so how about a coffee?” I asked hopefully.

* * *

Shaylee’s POV

Is it bad that I’m having a good time?

Aiden and I had been to all of my favourite shops, spending most of our time in Honeydukes. We had spent half an hour tasting all of the new sweets and Aiden had insisted on buying me a large block of chocolate.

“Did you want to maybe have a rest and get a drink?” Aiden asked as we came out of Honeydukes into the light breeze.

“Yeah, that would be great!” I said and smiled at him. I tucked all of my sweets into my bag and went to turn to go to the Three Broomsticks.

“I thought maybe we could go to Madame Puddifoot’s,” Aiden said and grabbed my hand to lead me in the right direction.

What? What?! I don’t want to go to Madame Puddifoot’s! I accidentally went in there once and it was just a lot of people snogging for England! It had awful frilly things all over the place! I would rather sit in a bathtub full of flobberworms than to go back in there.

I am not going there and that is final.

…

I am standing in front of Madame Pudifoot’s. Alone might I add.

Just… what?

Aiden had managed to drag me all the way up the street. Just as we got to the little tea shop, one of the guys on the Slytherin quidditch team called out to Aiden.

“I won’t be a second Shaylee,” Aiden said before he went over to talk to him.

Resisting the urge to run away and never look back, I looked through the window and nearly threw up. Sirius was in there with Jessica and they were snogging over their cups of forgotten tea. Gross, couldn’t they go somewhere a little less public? And why does Sirius want to snog Jessica Russell anyway? She is a sleeping bag stealer and obviously no good.

And that’s when I saw them.

Remus was in there with Emily! They were in there together. Both of them! They were in there breathing the same air. Remus was just looking at her and she was just talking and talking.

I hate her!

They weren’t snogging though. If they were I have a feeling I would have crashed through the window and pulled Emily off of Remus. Oh God, I am standing out here glaring at them through a window like some creepy stalker.

Look away!

I can’t, it’s too horrible.

Suddenly Sirius broke away from his snogging partner and turned and said something to Remus. Remus got up quickly. Then Sirius got up too and they were talking away to each other like mates. Jessica and Emily looked a little put out but got up to follow the boys towards the door. When did Sirius and Remus become friends again? No one told me.

Wait, what am I thinking? They are walking towards the door!

Escape!

I dithered around like a fool, looking for somewhere to hide. There wasn’t anywhere. I panicked and turned around in circles. Why I thought that would help, I will never know.

Maybe if I look at this tree over here they won’t notice me? Yes, yes that is what I will do. Now to put an ‘interested in nature’ look on my face, not to be confused with my ‘need to go to the loo’ face. Hmmm, yes I love trees. Good, great.

“Shaylee?” he said in his amazing voice and I very nearly melted into a puddle.

Oh God! What am I going to do?!

Nothing is the answer.

Like the fool that I am, I just continued to stand there and stare at the tree. My brain had died and I was just trying to make sure the butterflies in my stomach didn’t explode out of me.

“Heeeellooo earth to Shaylee. What are you doing?” Sirius asked from behind me.

I turned around to face them. Sirius was looking at me with an amused smirk on his face, Jessica looked bored and was checking out her nails and Emily was glaring absolute daggers at me. If looks could kill, I would be dead, dead and also dead.

Remus was looking at me with a strange look on his face. I can’t even explain what sort of look it was, but it was not an ‘I hate your guts’ sort of look so that is a plus.

“I just love nature!” I blurted out when I realised that Sirius was still waiting for an answer. Everyone looked at me like I had lost it. I do not blame them. Well except Emily. I will blame her for everything, because I can.

“Oh Sirius, you joker!” I said and laughed like the nature loving loon that I am.

“Sorry about that,” Aiden said and he popped up beside me. Oh God, not now! I know I said I wanted to make Remus jealous, but I take it back! “Ready to go inside?” he asked, completely ignoring Remus and the others. I almost laughed at how as soon as Jessica and Emily saw Aiden, they started flicking their hair and smiling.

“Sure…” I said and started following Aiden into the teashop of doom. I waved to Sirius who was glaring at Aiden. I didn’t dare look at Remus’ face.

Worst timing ever.

* * *

After an excruciating hour of sitting in Puddifoot’s with Aiden, we walked out into the afternoon sun. I had the intense urge to put my hands to the sky and exclaim, ‘I’m FREEEE!’ I didn’t though.

It was so awkward the whole time we were in there. There had been couples snogging all around us while I drained my tea quickly in the hopes that we could leave sooner. It didn’t work. Aiden just ordered me another one. Aiden kept trying to sneakily hold my hand. In desperation, I showed him a ten minute ‘puppet’ show so that my hands would be busy. It was not my finest moment.

We walked down the still crowded streets in silence. Since I had seen Remus, my mind had been full of him. He had looked amazing today. He always looked so different out of his school uniform. And he had said my name in his beautiful voice.

I let out a sigh.

“Shaylee, there is something I have been meaning to talk to you about…” Aiden trailed off and came to a stop.

I stopped and looked at him, coming out of my Remus haze.

“You know that I like you,” he started and my stomach dropped. Oh Merlin, it was one of those talks. “And you asked me to Hogsmeade today…”

“Aiden-” I tried to say, so that I could start to explain but he cut me off. It was probably a good thing because what was I going to say? Sorry I am a terrible person and used you so I wouldn’t be lonely and wanted to make Remus jealous? No thank you.

“I know you don’t like me how I like you, but I guess I still sort of hoped that today you would change your mind… but you didn’t and that’s okay,” he said and smiled sort of sadly at me. Oh, please don’t be nice! It makes me feel awful!

He smirked and said, “Babe, I know you pretty well now, not to mention you are a shit liar. Don’t think I didn’t realise that you were looking around all day for Lupin and his date. You may not have noticed that you were doing it but I sure did. Not to mention the fact that you practically jumped a mile every time I touched you.”

He said this all calmly and sort of like he was amused. Why was he not yelling and cursing me? Shouldn’t he hate me? Boys are so weird.

“Aiden I am so sorry!” I said and looked down at my shoes. “Everything sort of happened at once and before I knew it I was asking you to Hogsmeade for all of the wrong reasons…”

“Don’t worry Shaylee. I just wish you would have told me. I could have helped you out more,” he said and grinned at me.

“I really did have a nice time,” I said and smiled at him. “Well except for Madame Puddifoot’s,” I admitted.

Aiden laughed and gave me a wicked grin. “Yeah well let’s just say that was your punishment for using me,” he said and smirked. I stared at him open mouthed for a second.

“You mean you took me there knowing I would hate it?!” I said in mock outrage. I couldn’t help but laugh though. “I guess I deserved it.”

We were interrupted by the same pretty Slytherin girl I often saw Aiden talking to. “Hey Aiden! Are you coming or not?” she called from a group of other Slytherin students. Aiden waved to her before he turned back to me.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I made plans with some of my other friend’s,” Aiden said and smiled apologetically at me. Why is he so bloody nice?! He should have said, ‘I’m ditching you now loser because you are a horrible friend!’

“Yeah that’s fine! I’ll see you tomorrow maybe,” I said and smiled at him. He suddenly pulled me into a tight hug and I hugged him back. “Thank you for being such a great friend,” I whispered to him.

“Speaking of being a great friend,” Aiden whispered into my ear, still hugging me. “Don’t look now, but I think we succeeded in making Lupin jealous.”

Before I could even process what he had just said, he let go, gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and then went and joined his other friends.

What the blooming hell?

I turned around in a sort of daze only to come face to face with Remus. He was looking down at me with his unreadable look on his face again. My stomach burst into instant butterflies and my knees felt a little weak. God, I had almost forgotten just how good he smells.

We just stood there staring at each, neither of us saying anything or looking away. I don’t know how I was remembering how to breathe because my brain had dropped out of my head completely.

“Remus! Remus you naughty boy, where are you!” a shrill voice came from around the corner, shaking us both out of our strange staring contest. Remus’ head snapped in the direction of Emily’s voice and I felt my heart sink. He was going to go running back to her and I will be left even more confused than I was before.

“Quick, come with me,” Remus said suddenly in a low voice and he grabbed my hand. I was so surprised that I let him drag me into a narrow alley way, barely big enough for both of us to squeeze in to. To be honest, I would let him take me wherever he wanted. I know, I know, I have no self-control.

The alley was so cramped that I was practically stuck to Remus, we were pressed that close together. The alley was dark and we were in the shadows but I could still make out Remus’ face, considering it was about a centimeter from mine.

“What-” I started to say but Remus put his finger to my lips and whispered ‘shhh’. We both stood in silence, pressed against each other. What is going on? Am I dreaming? Was Aiden actually furious with me for using him and ended up cursing me? Am I dead?

Knowing my luck, I probably am.

“Remus?” Emily called again, much closer this time. She sounded sulky and annoyed. A couple of seconds later, I saw her walk pass the tiny alley that Remus and I were in. She didn’t even glance at it, just kept on walking and calling, “I’m going to find yooooou!”

We waited about another minute until we could no longer hear her. Remus let out a sigh of relief and smiled at me. Ohhh his smile is so nice!

“Sorry about that,” he said to me in a soft voice. He was looking into my eyes and I felt like I was melting.

“What was that all about?” I managed to ask. I’m surprised Brain! I thought for sure you would make me just stand here and stare at Remus like an idiot.

Remus raised his hand slowly and brushed my hair away from my face softly. My skin tingled where his fingers brushed against it and I felt all of my brain function slowly disappearing.

“That,” he started and laughed slightly. “That was the worst date I’ve ever been on! I’ve been trying to escape all day. I am going to kill James for making me go with her,” he said, shaking his head.

I stared at him for a moment. Is he saying he didn’t want to go on a stupid date with stupid Emily? Merlin, I hope he is.

“Why did you go with her then?” I asked in a small voice, not looking at him.

“Because I couldn’t ask the girl that I did want to go with,” he said in just as soft a voice. His gently turned my face towards his so we were looking at each other again. My stomach did crazy flip flops and I got instant butterflies. He’s talking about me right? I’m not hallucinating? No? Good, great.

“Let’s get out of here,” Remus said suddenly, not giving me a chance to respond to what he had just said. He grabbed my hand and led me back out into the sunshine. I followed him in a bit of a daze. Remus looked up and down the street, looking for Emily I suppose. I was still in my own world of Remus-ness to notice, or care, about stupid Emily.

Remus led me up the street, still holding my hand. I’m surprised my legs are even still working at this point. Wait a minute, where are we going?

My question was answered just a couple of minutes later. We passed the Three Broomsticks and Honeydukes and kept going until we were leaving Hogsmeade. My face fell when I realised that we were going back to school. Just great.

I don’t want to go back to school! I want to… I want to… Oh I don’t even know what I want to do, I’m that confused. Neither of us had said anything but my brain was bursting with questions. What does this mean? Are we friends again? Does Remus want to run away and get married? Is my hand really sweaty from holding his?

Tell me!

While I was thinking of all sorts of crazy things, we had made it back to Hogwarts without me even noticing. But instead of going into the castle like I thought we would, Remus turned right and headed towards the lake. My hopes lifted again slightly at realizing that Remus didn’t want to get rid of me just yet.

The sun was low in the sky and I was able to stop the babble in my head long enough to take notice of how pretty the lake looked. Why were there not more people out enjoying the weekend? I suppose a lot of the first and second years are catching up on homework and everyone else is still at Hogsmeade.

We got to the large beech tree by the lake and Remus stopped. This is it. This is where he either tells me he wants to be friends, or he says he still hates me and hopes I get attacked by flesh eating flobberworms.

He didn’t do either of those things.

Instead, he took a step towards me so he was so close that I could feel his breath on my skin. He put one hand on my waist and pulled me to him. His other hand cupped my face and his thumb stroked my cheek. I couldn’t stop the shivers the feeling gave me. My breathing was all over the place and my brain seemed to have stalled. We stood there, just looking at each other. Then my hands found their way up to his shoulders and Remus smiled down at me.

And then his kissed me.

A/N: Hi guy’s! Sorry about the long wait! (…again) I know I am terrible! But here is chapter 23! I tried to make it extra-long and that has to count for something right? I hope you liked it! Thank you so much for reading and putting up with me.

How did you like the ending? Happy that Remus and Shaylee are (maybe) back together? Or sad that Emily didn’t kidnap Remus, leaving Shaylee and Aiden to live happily ever after? Let me know with a review! I love all the feedback I get and it really does give me inspiration!

Thank you to each and every one of you who have reviewed! I truly appreciate it. Every time I read a review I get this stupid smile on my face that makes me look like a bit of a loony. Don’t let that put you off though! :P